The Beast Tamer
by saidiecat
Summary: Kaetus always had a purpose... until they broke him... This story revolves around Kaetus, Sloane Kelly's right hand turian of Kadara Port. It also contains spoilers for the Kadara story, so the summary is kept short. [Kaetus x OC] NOW COMPLETE!
1. Chapter One: Broken

So, I just finished Mass Effect:Andromeda and now I feel sad, but it did inspire me to write another fanfic! Now, this story will contain SPOILERS for the Kadara quest line. It is based on certain choices the Pathfinder makes, but it revolves around Kaetus, Sloane Kelly's right hand turian.

SPOILERS are already starting, turn back now if you've not completed the Kadara story! (But after you're done come back and read it)

For some reason, I was drawn to Kaetus. Probably because he was an asshole turian with an air of mystery about him hehe. With my choices in my game, I felt bad for how things went down for him, so I got inspired to write about him. This story is as if the Collective never arrested him after they take over Kadara Port. This is also written before any sort of DLC or expansions that might involve Kaetus. This is rated M for bad language and eventually some explicit scenes. Hope you all enjoy!

* * *

Chapter One

Broken

Kaetus opened his eyes to the most intense pain he'd ever felt. Well, he thought he'd opened his eyes, but as he began to focus, he realized only one was opening. Everything hurt. Even parts of him he didn't think could hurt. His head felt like it was being squeezed in a vice, his insides felt as if they'd been chewed up and spit back out, and his arms and legs felt numb and heavy.

Like pieces of a puzzle falling into place, his mind began to reconnect and remember what happened. It was those damned Collective thugs. They jumped him when he was weaponless. He was able to fight a few off and land some good punches, but one turian couldn't fend off ten minions of the Charlatan. When they finally tackled him down, they bound him, put a bag over his head and took him somewhere far from Kadara Port. When the bag was removed and the blinding sun hit him, the Collectives stripped him of his armor. Then they all cowardly hid behind masks as they took turns beating the living shit out of him. When one was kicking his guts in, another was working his head or his hands or his legs. It all happened so quickly and for the first time in a very long time, Kaetus felt helpless as his world went black.

He wasn't sure how he was even still alive. He was certain that when he felt that armored boot to his face that he was going to end up dead. He wasn't even sure where he was or how he got there. As his partial vision began to focus further, he saw rocks, rocks and more rocks. He was completely surrounded by them. Then he realized he was in a cave. He tried to turn his head to get a better bearing on his surroundings, but he was met with an explosion of pain in his head that caused lights to flash in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and growled at the agony that struck him like lightning.

"I wouldn't move if I were you." The feminine voice echoed across the cave.

"S-Sloane?" Kaetus slurred out weakly.

"No, but rest. You're safe… for now."

Kaetus normally wouldn't take orders from anyone but Sloane, especially from strange voices, but his weakness drowned him and he lost consciousness again.

* * *

A few hours previous…

Sasha Harmon could never leave an injured animal. Even if that animal was a turian. She had fond memories of when she was a child finding squirrels and rabbits that had been hit by cars or neglected dogs and cats. Much to her mother's disapproval, she brought them all home and nursed them back to health. A turian was far from an injured squirrel or a hungry cat, but they were still living things.

She found the heap of carapace and blood in the middle of nowhere with the Kadara sun beating down on him. At first, she thought he was dead. Another victim of Kadara's "politics", but then she noticed the ever so slight rising and falling of his chest as weak, ragged breaths came from him.

She fought with her conscience for a while, knowing helping him might make enemies and Sasha couldn't afford enemies, but like always her morals won. Luckily, only a few moments ago, she found an abandoned outlaw camp, courtesy of the Pathfinder, and she found a good deal of scrap. She planned on selling it, but for now, she figured it would help with her turian. She reached into her self-built "hover-cart", made from an empty storage crate and the remains of a mining drone, and pulled out a canvas tarp that she had found covering an outlaw vehicle. She laid it out, grabbed the back of the turian's body suit and pulled him onto the tarp. She then tied her hover-cart to the end of the tarp using some cables she found and like an odd sort of train, she pulled the half-dead turian on the tarp, which pulled the hover-cart full of junk. Luckily, the little engine on the hover-cart blew the sand behind them, covering their tracks.

She grunted and heaved as she pulled the heavy ass turian back home. "My kids are not gonna like this," she muttered to herself.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter Two: The Unwanted Rescuer

Chapter Two

The Unwanted Rescuer

The next time Kaetus came to, he definitely felt a little better. The grip on his head had loosened and some of the pain in his body had subsided, though he was still in a considerable amount of it. He felt something cool on his face, near the eye that wouldn't open, and it felt heavenly. At least when he ignored all the other pains. It started going away, then it returned suddenly. Something cold and wet was being pressed to his face. Then he realized _someone_ was pressing something cold and wet to his face. His good eye sprung open and fell onto a woman. A human woman and to his dismay, it wasn't Sloane. This woman had a head of long hair as wild and red as a fire burning out of control that spilled onto her back and shoulders. Her eyes were bright blue and her body seemed more curvaceous than Sloane, but the fact of the matter was that she wasn't Sloane. And right now, Sloane was the only person Kaetus cared about seeing.

"Fuck off!" He spat instinctively in a weak, choking voice.

Unfazed by his rude demand, she withdrew the compress she had on his face and said, "That's no way to treat your rescuer." Her bright blue eyes glared into his resembling little angry pools of water.

"I don't need a damn rescuer, just get me to Sloane Kelly," he hissed.

The woman shook her head slowly. "I can't do that."

A mix of anger and panic welled up in him. "Are you keeping me hostage? Are you with the Collective? If you're thinking of a ransom, forget it. Sloane would never-"

"Oh, shut up!" The woman's outburst was so sudden, Kaetus obeyed out of sheer surprise. "Can you just go back to sleep so I can continue tending to your wounds?"

Kaetus felt a growl of rage bubbling in his throat, but he spoke softly and slowly as if this woman was too dumb to understand his demands. "I don't need your help, just go to Kadara Port and get me Sloane."

The woman let out a loud, exasperated groan as she stood up and threw the compress down. "Heal yourself, you ungrateful dick!"

Before Kaetus could open his mouth to speak, the woman stormed off. Good. At least now he could think of a way out of this mess. He began testing his body, to see how injured he was. If he had enough strength to walk, maybe he could get past the annoying woman and make it back to the port. He wasn't sure if Sloane knew what happened, but she probably already realized he was missing. There were probably teams already searching for him.

He started with his hands, his left hand seemed fine, his three clawed fingers moved easily, but his right wasn't so cooperative. His attempt to move it resulted in a shock of pain. Then he lifted his left arm, all good. He lifted his right and saw that his hand was completely wrapped in bandages with two splints on his two main fingers. Then he remembered one of the thugs stomping on his hand repeatedly. It was completely broken. They even busted his omni-tool, so contacting anyone himself was out of the question. Luckily, he could still fire a gun with his left. He moved his legs and though they seemed to move just fine, his left leg seemed weaker than his right. He brought his left hand to his face and felt around. His left eye, the bad one, was swollen shut and his brow plate was cracked. He moved to his nose, which was incredibly tender. He suddenly realized he hadn't even been breathing through it, when he tried, he couldn't. It must've been swollen shut too. His fingers moved down to his mouth. One of his teeth were broken and the tip of his left mandible was snapped off.

When he tried to sit up, his body resisted. Pain shot through his chest and he figured he must've had some broken ribs and bruised organs, but he was able to lift his head slowly and look down at himself. He realized he was missing the top of his body suit, but in its place was a line of bandages across his chest with dots of his blue blood seeping through. He still had the bottom half of his body suit on, but the left pant leg had been ripped off and like his top, it had been replaced with bandages.

He sighed as he realized he was a lot worse off than he hoped. He laid his head back down and suddenly felt like an ass. As annoying as the woman was, she did save him and patched him up. He just _had_ to get back to Sloane. She had to know what happened so they could begin dishing their revenge out onto the Collective. Those bastards were going to pay. Perhaps if he tried being nicer to the woman, she'd take him back to the port.

He turned his head to see where she stormed off to. He didn't see her, but he did see the cave. It was lit up with lamps, probably powered by a generator. The cave was actually fairly large. Him and his little mat he was lying on was almost against the back wall and to one side of the cave, there were neat stacks of scrap. Most of it was piled into crates, but there was everything from metal to engine parts to pieces of armor. At the far end he spotted a makeshift bed, an overturned crate acting as a table with a smaller crate as stool and an array of equipment probably used for cooking. He couldn't see too much further into the cave as his view was blocked by a cluster of stalagmites.

"Hey," he called out, hearing his weak voice bounce against the walls, "human."

He was met with silence for a few moments, but then he heard a rustling. He heard odd footsteps grazing the rocks slowly, as if something was preparing to attack him. His eyes darted around the cave and he saw something moving behind the stalagmites. Slowly, it crept around and Kaetus locked eyes with a growling challyrion.

"Shit, shit, shit!" He whispered, afraid his voice would cause the creature to pounce.

The challyrion didn't bother cloaking as it took careful steps towards Kaetus, the long spines on its back shifting with every step. Kaetus readied his good hand. He hoped he could get a good hold onto its neck before it ate his face. The creature moved closer and closer and with each inch Kaetus's aching body tensed even more.

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang across the cave. "Fuff, heel."

To Kaetus's relief, the challyrion stopped. The woman came from behind the stalagmites and approached the thing with no fear. It looked up at her and sat on its haunches.

"You leave him alone," the woman said to it, "go back to your bed."

She pointed to somewhere Kaetus couldn't see and the damned thing listened. She was scolding a challyrion and the beast obeyed with its tail between its legs.

She turned to Kaetus, who knew his face, though probably deformed with injury, was gaping with shock. "Sorry," she said, her tone still curt from their previous encounter, "he won't hurt you."

Kaetus finally reeled in his thoughts and said, "You have a pet challyrion?"

"I have four and an adhi," she answered if it wasn't an odd thing at all. He'd heard of outlaws sometimes using adhi's as guard animals, but challyrions? And four of them?

"How…" Kaetus began to ask, but before he satisfied his curiosity, he had to set things right and get back home. "Hey, I'm… uh… sorry for how I acted. I should thank you for helping me."

The woman crossed her arms and stared at him for a few moments, then said sternly. "Apology accepted."

Now that the worst was over, he decided to make his request again, but this time, he spoke more politely, hoping for a better response. "Look, you seem nice, which is strange in these parts, but if you just contact Sloane Kelly, she'll make sure I get the medical care I need and I won't be a burden to you anymore."

Suddenly, the woman's ocean-blue eyes changed. Kaetus saw pity in them and a knot formed in his gut.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, "Sloane Kelly is dead."

As the words reached his ears, all at once, his world had ended.

To be continued...


	3. Chapter Three: End of the World

Chapter Three

End of the World

Soon after Sasha had brought home the turian, got him settled and began bandaging him, she realized who he was. She recognized the familiar dark face plates and the aqua designs over them and knew she was going to have a hassle when he woke. Especially after she found out Sloane Kelly had been offed by the Collective.

She didn't want to tell him at first, even though he was a complete asshole to her, she couldn't bring herself to tell him. When he requested it again, a little nicer, she knew she had to, otherwise he would probably try something stupid to get back to Sloane and the Collective would either jail him or kill him.

At first, Kaetus didn't believe her. The shock was too much and he fell into denial. He kept coming up with reasons why she would lie to him, his favorite being, "You're working for the Collective."

To which her response was, "Why would I go through all this to keep you alive if I worked for the Collective?"

It wasn't until Sasha brought up the reports on her omni-tool that he started to believe it.

For a while, Kaetus didn't speak. He just stared up at the cave ceiling letting the truth sink in. Sasha felt horrible for him as she watched him from her makeshift stool across the cave. As much of a jerk he was, no one deserved this.

Finally, ever so quietly, he spoke in a dry, cracking voice. "How did it happen?"

"Reports state she agreed to a duel with the Charlatan. Sloane even had the Pathfinder accompany her, but Sloane was gunned down." Sasha told him.

"And the Pathfinder didn't help her?!" Kaetus growled through gritted teeth.

"I… don't know the exact details."

Sasha saw his mandibles clench as his voice dripped with hatred. "The Pathfinder could've saved her, but he didn't. When I get out of here, he's going down, along with that fucking Charlatan."

Sasha stood to carefully move closer and spoke softly. "I know you're angry, but calling war on the Pathfinder and the Collective isn't a good idea right now."

"I don't care what kind of idea it is! I will die killing as many Collective and Nexus assholes as I can!"

"Look, Kaetus, you are in bad shape. It will probably take months for you to be at your best again. By then, the Pathfinder will be long gone. And the Collective has already taken Kadara Port. You stroll in there, you're as good as dead."

He looked at her with rage and pain in his good eye. "Why should you care?"

She placed her hands on her hips and said, "Because I've spent a lot of time, money and resources keeping you alive, I'm not going to just let you walk to your death."

Kaetus turned his head back to the ceiling and murmured, "You should've saved your resources and just left me where you found me."

Sasha sighed as she told him, "I can't imagine the pain you're in, Kaetus, but believe me when I say that revenge never makes it better. It might numb the pain for a little while, but in the end, it only gets worse."

Kaetus didn't answer, just continued staring at the ceiling, wishing death would take him as well.

* * *

Sasha didn't speak to Kaetus again for a long time. He refused to talk, even if she tried to coax him. He refused to eat and didn't sleep. He didn't even make a sound when she put the cold compress on his face again. The only thing he did do was pivot his hips carefully and relieve himself in a container Sasha provided. Sasha always stepped out when he did this to offer him some of his dignity. She knew how hard it was for him. Not only losing Sloane, but having to depend on a stranger.

Two days passed and Sasha began to wonder if she would lose him to his despair. She knew he had to be dehydrated, even though she was able to sneak some droplets of water into his mouth when she put the compress over his snapped mandible, but it was nowhere near enough. He had to be starving too, but she couldn't force him to eat. He was giving up.

On the morning of the third day, Sasha woke to the same Kaetus starting up at the ceiling. She noted in her mind how he almost blended in with the dull grey rock formations around him. If it wasn't for the brown mat he laid on and the aqua on his face, his entire upper body would've probably disappeared into the rocks. She continued with her plans for the day, knowing eventually she would come home to a dead turian, but until then, she continued to try to break him out of his sorrowed stupor.

As she put on her suit of armor she had scavenged from some dead outlaws, she told him, "I'm heading to the port to sell some scrap. I'll get some more food you're able to eat, even though you let the other stuff go to waste. I'll keep some handy just in case you decide to eat. Oh, one second, let me get you some water in case you get thirsty."

Kaetus didn't respond, but heard her walk away. Soon after, he heard the scuffling sound of feet return. Suddenly, he felt something creep up on his left side and nudge his hand. For the first time in nearly three days, his eyes moved. He turned to look at what was touching him and saw a young challyrion. It nudged his hand again, squirming closer until it was up against him. It continued to nudge until his hand was on its snout. Kaetus sighed and moved his hand back down. The challyrion whimpered and then nudged him again until his hand was on its head.

He heard the woman enter the room again and he spoke to her, his voice dry and raspy. "What is this thing doing?"

"Oh," the woman let out a giggle, "oh my," she giggled again. "Well, that's Kira, she's still a pup and is desperate for attention. I think she knows you're in pain."

"That doesn't explain why it's here."

"Well, she thinks of you as part of the pack. When I first brought you here I had all of them come inspect you so they'd get used to your presence. I'm the alpha and I asserted your place in the pack so they wouldn't attack you." She explained, thankful he was at least talking again. "She knows you're hurting and when a member of the pack is hurting, it's natural for them to ease that pain."

"Can you call it off?"

Sasha opened her mouth to call Kira, but stopped. "You know," she said as she set down a cup of water next to him, "I don't think I will. I think you need her right now. And don't you dare think about hurting her or the others will know."

Kaetus turned to her and glared, but she smiled back.

Kaetus watched the woman leave and silently cursed her for leaving him with the annoying beast. He turned back towards the challyrion and moved his hand away again, this time he crossed it over his chest, out of the beast's reach. It whimpered and inched closer, crawling on its belly in a weak attempt to be cute. The thing was hardly cute. It was covered in greenish scales, with a mane of black fur down its neck. It hadn't even grown into its spines yet.

"Shoo…" Kaetus said to it, waving his hand, "shoo, go away."

The thing just rolled over onto its back and looked up at Kaetus expectantly.

"Get out of here… damn, what was your name? Oh, uh… Kira… out… shoo… scram…" Kaetus groaned in aggravation as Kira didn't budge.

Suddenly, he heard more feet. Another challyrion sauntered in. This one was the same size as the one he saw the other day, possibly the same one. Kaetus froze as this larger one approached his legs and sniffed his wound. His attention was then drawn to another challyrion coming in and another. These two were smaller like Kira, but Kaetus still didn't move. The larger one ended up lying down next to his feet and licking his toe. He jerked his leg back, ignoring the pain, as he hissed, "Stop it." The two new ones found spots to lie down next to his head and next to his good leg, close to Kira. Then, as if it couldn't get _any_ worse, in strolled the adhi. The adhi was about the size of the larger challyrion, with a reptilian face and a fin down its back. The adhi curled up next to his right arm and rested its head on his shoulder. Feeling the adhi's hot breath on his neck and hearing the snorts and grunts coming from the dozing challyrions, all Kaetus could mutter was, "Oh, spirits…"

To be continued...


	4. Chapter Four: Kindness on Kadara

Chapter Four

Kindness on Kadara

Out of all the things Sasha could've expected to see when she arrived home, four challyrions and and an adhi cuddled up against a pissed off turian was not one of them.

"Oh my god," she said, trying not to laugh and nearly dropping the satchels she had slung over her shoulder, "this is the best thing I've ever seen."

"Get them off," Kaetus demanded impatiently.

Sasha then could not hold back and laughed so hard she nearly fell over.

"Please get them off," Kaetus growled.

After a moment of feeling Kaetus's angry glare, her laughter simmered and she said, "Oh, alright." Then let out a sharp whistle.

All at once, the four challyrions and the adhi sprung up and bounded towards Sasha as if they hadn't seen her in years. Kaetus watched curiously, but still quite irritated.

"Yes, yes," she said to them, "I have your treats."

All of the creatures stood in front of her like a squad of faithful troops and she was their commander. She reached into a large satchel that hung on her hip. "Fuff, you're first." She pulled out a hunk of meat from the bag and tossed it to the larger challyrion. It caught the meat in its dangerous jaws and then ran out with it resembling a child with a new toy. "Kira, you're next." Kira took her meat a little more gingerly than Fuff and followed the larger one. "Sprocket, here's yours." One of the other challyrions, Kaetus noticed it had a dusting of white spots on its rear, took its meat and followed the others. "Apollo, here's yours." The last challyrion repeated the pattern. "Flynn, last but not least, here's your treat." The adhi then completed this ritual as it headed out, meat in mouth.

"This is absolute madness," Kaetus murmured. His voice was very weak, but still held a tone of surprise. "How the hell did you get five bloodthirsty beasts to follow your every command?"

Sasha removed her armor and placed it at the end of her bed as she spoke. "I will tell you…" she paused as she reached into another bag she'd set down with the armor, "if you drink this."

She pulled out a sealed metallic bottle and moved towards Kaetus. "What is it?" He asked.

"It is a drink made for turians that has all sorts of nutrients that helps when you're sick or dehydrated."

She set the bottle down next to him. He glanced at it, back at her and said, "Fine," as he began to hoist himself up. His weakness hit him hard as his head began to spin and his arms shook under his weight. He grunted as they nearly gave out.

"Hey, hey, hold on a sec," Sasha said as she rushed over to help him.

She grabbed his good arm and Kaetus tensed. For a moment, their eyes locked onto each other and Kaetus wasn't sure what to feel. He never really had anyone be so kind to him, especially when he didn't even understand why. And he didn't even know her name.

She helped him up into a sitting position and then pushed over an empty storage crate for him to lean against. He snatched up the bottle and as he opened the lid, he said, "So tell me about your animals, uh…"

One corner of her lips pulled up. "My name is Sasha." She watched him take a gulp of the drink, then continued. "I found Fuff, well his full name is Kerfuffle because, well, that's what he is. Anyway, I found him caught in a trap. He tried to attack me, but I was able to keep him restrained as I nursed him back to health. I had all the intention of releasing him back into the wild, but he began following me and soon began obeying my commands. Sometimes he tried to challenge me, but I asserted my dominance and became his alpha. Not too long after that I found Kira, Sprocket and Apollo. They were a litter of pups whose mother was killed. They were easy to tame, being pups. They're still young, but they're very sweet. And Flynn I found in an abandoned outlaw camp locked in a cage, nearly starved to death. He kind of just went along with the others."

"So they were all injured and you nursed them back to health… like me."

Sasha chuckled, "Well you are a little more difficult and stubborn than them and it wasn't as simple as just nursing them back to health. I got a lot of bites and scratches, I had to learn to respect them and they had to learn to respect me. I had to educate myself on their behavior habits, but luckily, that is my field of expertise."

Kaetus raised his good brow plate. "You study animals?"

"Back home I was a veterinarian and an animal behaviorist. I was recruited by the Initiative to study the new animals we would be encountering on these planets."

"Yet here you are hiding in a cave on Kadara."

Sasha shrugged. "We all have done something that landed us here." Before Kaetus had the chance to ask about her reason for being exiled, she changed the subject. "Your swelling has gone down quite a bit you know."

He touched his face gingerly. "Yeah, I guess."

"Oh, speaking of which, I guess I should change out your bandages."

Kaetus didn't respond. He wasn't sure how to. He had suffered through medic visits before, but being a medic was their job. Sasha was a stranger. She had no reason to help him and it made him extremely uncomfortable, but he knew he wasn't in any shape to refuse medical assistance. As Sasha retrieved the bandages, he wondered what Sloane would say to him if she saw him like this. She wasn't the type to dote on him, or anyone for that matter. She'd probably tell him to get off his ass and get back to work. She wasn't the most caring individual, but he was loyal to her. He vowed to protect her and he failed.

Kaetus watched as Sasha undid the bandages on his leg. Once they were off, he noticed the large crack in his shin plates and the gash in his calf. He also noticed his spur was broken.

As Sasha tossed the old bloodied bandages aside, she looked up at him and asked, "Are you thinking about Sloane?"

His good eye met hers with a threatening gaze.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about her. I know you two were close, but sometimes it helps to talk about the people you care about after their gone."

Kaetus looked away as she began rewrapping his leg. He didn't want to think of Sloane as 'gone', as truthful as it was. He sighed and tried to take her advice, hoping it would help. _Something_ had to help ease the constant ache in his chest. "Yes… we were… close."

"Did you love her?"

His jaw tensed and his mandibles jerked. Then he scoffed. "There's no such thing as love. There's loyalty and survival."

Sasha wasn't sure what to say to that. It was obvious Kaetus had feelings for Sloane, but he would never admit it. Plus, the rigid turian seemed to have bitter thoughts on the idea of love, so Sasha decided it was best to leave the subject alone.

When she finished his leg, she moved onto his chest. She knelt at his side with clean bandages in hand. He leaned forward slightly to allow her access, but when he did, the urge to ask Sasha of her intentions struck him.

"Sasha," he felt a little strange saying her name for the first time after being around her for days. "Why are you helping me? I mean, what's your motive, your end game here? You're obviously not with the Outcasts or the Collective, so why go through all this trouble?"

Her fingers grazed his carapace delicately as she undid the bandages and she looked up at him with a playful smirk. "I'm going to recruit you into my team, the Crazy Beasts!" Kaetus's expression was clearly unimpressed with her joke, but she laughed at it. His grouchiness didn't take away from her enjoying her own joke. "But seriously, I helped you because you needed help."

He raised a brow as she tossed the old bandages. "So you have no ulterior motives?"

"Is that so hard for you to believe?"

"Yes," he answered bluntly. "Kindness doesn't go far on Kadara."

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I have no ulterior motives." She touched the broken pieces of his carapace gingerly and he flinched. "Still looks tender."

"No shit," he muttered.

She ignored him and let her fingers travel down his wound, which was healing, but was still a maze of cracks and gashes across the front of his carapace.

Kaetus tried his best to be nice, but damn he was uncomfortable. No one, not even Sloane had ever touched him like this. He kept telling himself she was only inspecting his injuries, like a medic would, but it was still difficult to sit and allow it.

"Looks like it's healing nicely, though I'll admit I don't know too much about turian anatomy. I'm not going to worry about your hand for a while. It needs to stay splinted."

She replaced the bandages on his chest with clean ones and then disposed of old ones in a bag by her cooking equipment. She returned with something in a package that fit in the palm of her hand.

"Oh, I also got you this. It's some kind of turian nutrient bar if you're hungry." He took the package as she continued. "It's actually pretty late, so I'm going to bed. Do you need help lying back down?"

"No," he replied. He wanted to do _something_ on his own. He hated feeling helpless.

"Okay, well, I'll be just over there. Don't hesitate to wake me up if you need me."

Kaetus nodded as Sasha dimmed some of the lamps and cleared the equipment off of her bed on the other side of the cave. She removed her body suit, wearing some kind of knee-length breeches and a V-neck shirt. It wasn't the most revealing sleepwear, but Kaetus still averted his gaze. He waited a while, noticed Sasha toss underneath her blanket a few times, then when she was still, he opened the nutrient bar.

As he took a bite, favoring his broken tooth, his thoughts dwelled on Sloane and Sasha's questions. Everyone knew they were close, but no one knew the extent. She depended on him as much as he depended on her. He had faith in her. She was a strong leader, but she was also ruthless and even Kaetus could admit, mean sometimes. Hell, she was even mean to him, but that was Sloane.

His mind ventured to when Sloane would call him into her quarters on the nights she was lonely. She would command him to strip out of his armor and body suit and fuck her. Some nights were different than others. Sometimes she would tell him to use his mouth. He got used to female human anatomy by following her demands. He would delve his tongue into her and lap at her most sensitive parts while she writhed in pleasure. Sometimes she would just tell him to fuck her. Only ever from behind or him on top and there was never any kissing, even though Kaetus knew it to be a form of human affection, but Sloane didn't want it. He enjoyed the fact he was there to pleasure her, even though most times he didn't finish himself, he was fulfilling her desires and that was all that mattered.

Kaetus finished his nutrient bar, took a swig of his drink and sighed, trying to ignore the ache in his groin that crept up on him while picturing his private moments with Sloane, but most of all he tried ignoring the empty feeling in his gut when he realized those moments would never happen again. Even though Sasha's lecture about revenge made sense, he still had to avenge Sloane. Those Collectives took everything from him and no matter what Sasha said to him, he would claim his revenge.

He glanced over at Sasha's sleeping form. She was curled up on the edge. Though he couldn't see her all that well, he did see some of her fire red hair that spilled over the edge of the bed like a flaming waterfall. He did admit to himself that she was a curiosity. A human, exile, scavenger, beast tamer with a kind heart. She was a rarity in Andromeda and he wondered how she wasn't dead yet.

As Kaetus finished off his drink, he figured he should get some sleep. He glanced down at his mat and noticed a folded blanket at the end of it. He hadn't noticed it until now. He picked it up and spread it out over him as he painfully readjusted himself back onto the mat and laid down, hoping sleep would come quick so his mind wouldn't remember any more.

To be continued...


	5. Chapter Five: The Challyrion's Crush

Note: Had to make a few changes as I must've missed that Kaetus was not exiled from the Nexus, but jettisoned from the turian ark. Thank you to Noberius Surthys for pointing that out. It has been adjusted in this chapter.

* * *

Chapter Five

The Challyrion's Crush

Kaetus woke to an odd sound. It was like a growl or maybe an engine. His eye cracked open and to his surprise, his other eye opened slightly. He silently thanked the spirits, even if the vision in that eye was still minimal and blurry. It was actually healing. His excitement simmered as he heard the sound again. He heard it every few seconds. It would stop and start again, stop and start again. It sounded like… snoring. Was Sasha snoring? He turned his head and still saw a fire-headed lump in the bed, but the sound wasn't coming from her. He turned his head the other way and saw Kira. She was curled up against him sleeping and snoring as her breath was pushed out of her snout.

"Damnit…" he muttered. He nudged the sleeping challyrion gently. "Okay, uh, Kira. Off you go. Go on."

She didn't move an inch.

He groaned as he turned and put his arms down in an attempt to lift himself up again. The nutrients did wonders. He should've known most of his weakness stemmed from him not eating. He was still weak and in pain, but he was able to lift himself up and sit up on his own. This gave him the courage to take it further. Even after sitting up, Kira still didn't move, but Kaetus didn't mind too much now, he was on a mission.

He scooched himself over to the empty crate and gripped the edge of it with his good hand and propped his other elbow on it. Luckily the crate was made of something that could take his weight. He pulled himself up and fire spread over him. His muscles trembled and his bones cracked and creaked, but he was going to do this. He put his good leg up underneath him and pushed up, careful not to put weight on his other leg. He felt like a child learning to walk again, except the pain that coursed through him. He grunted and growled as he bolstered his strength and straightened his body. He must not have realized how loud he was being because he suddenly heard Sasha's voice.

"Kaetus! What the hell are you doing?"

He turned to see her leap out of bed, hair everywhere and eyes wide with panic, and rush to his side.

"It's alright," he said, his voice strained, "I wanted to do this. I need to do this. Just… help me to sit somewhere."

"Of course!" She replied hurriedly and moved closer so that Kaetus could put his arm around her shoulder.

For the first time, he realized how much taller he was than her. Her shoulders were right under his arms, but it was perfect height to help him walk. She put her arm around him and placed her hand on the small of his back as she began guiding him to the crate table. He hopped on his good leg at first, but then put slight weight on his other leg. Out of all his injuries, his leg was probably the least of his worries. It still hurt, but he had to work on getting stronger.

They made it to the seat by the table and Sasha helped Kaetus sit as he growled at the impact of it.

"Are you okay?" She asked him.

He nodded. "Thanks, and I'm sorry to wake you. Little Miss Annoying over there woke me up with her snoring."

Sasha glanced over at Kira, still sleeping, and chuckled. "Sorry about that, she can be so needy, plus I think she has a crush on you."

Kaetus huffed a little laugh. "She must have bad taste." Sasha smiled at him and he was caught off guard by it. "What?"

She shook her head. "Oh nothing, I just think that's the first time I've seen you smile since finding you."

He shrugged and looked away, slightly embarrassed over her comment. "Well," he said, "when you find out a challyrion's got a crush on you, what can you do but smile?"

"True. You know, if you ever need her to leave you alone, you must speak to her clearly and sternly and say, 'out'. Also point to where you want her to go. It may take her a few times, but she'll listen if you assert your dominance." He nodded as she moved over to her cooking equipment. "I bought some turian food yesterday, do you want me to make you something?"

"Uh, sure," Kaetus didn't think he'd ever get used to someone providing for him.

"Are these things okay? Not sure what they are, but the instructions say you just have to boil them in water for a few minutes."

She held out a pack of small, round pieces of turian food. To Sasha, they sort of resembled dumplings. Kaetus inspected it and said, "Those are good, not really a breakfast food, but I'll eat anything."

Sasha smiled and began cooking them as she made herself a bowl of oatmeal. Kaetus watched her, looking over all of the things she had in her little cooking nook. Everything was raised up on crates or makeshift tables. There was a basin filled with water and it looked clean. There was an electric heating unit that was connected to a metal rack. It seemed the heating unit heated the rack to act as a stove. There was some other racks, crates and compartments that held food, dishes and other items. It was actually pretty impressive for a scavenger.

Sasha glanced at Kaetus examining her improvised kitchen and noticed he seemed to be in a much better mood, so she tried reaching out to him.

"So, Kaetus, tell me about yourself," she said casually as she put the food into dented metal pots.

His brow plates furrowed, even his broken one did slightly. "Why?"

As she stirred the food nonchalantly, she answered, "Just interested. I told you a little about me, so it's only fair."

He leaned forward onto the table and he considered it. He was beginning trust Sasha and nothing about his past was really worth hiding, other than his time with Sloane, so he saw no harm. "What do you want to know?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Anything. Just making small talk. Start when you were a kid."

"Well, I was raised by my father. My mother died when I was a baby and my father was a high ranking officer in the turian military. He raised me to be obedient, the perfect soldier, so of course it only made sense that I joined the military too as soon as I was able." Kaetus paused as he suddenly remembered something horrible. Some terrible buried memories crept up on him like a stalker waiting in the shadows. He'd forgotten them, pushed them to the back of his mind and before Sasha could notice his hesitance, he skirted around them. "Uh… eventually I joined the Initiative. I was asleep on the turian ark when things went bad and my cryo pod was jettisoned. I landed here on Kadara."

Sasha put the food in bowls, retrieved drinks and set everything on the table. As she retrieved another crate to act as a stool and seated herself on it, she asked, "How did your father feel about you joining the Initiative?"

Kaetus picked up a fork and toyed with his food for a moment. "He, uh… died before I made the decision." Sasha seemed surprised, probably because he didn't mention it before, but she sensed he didn't want to talk about it as he changed the subject. "So, back to you now. Why are you an exile? What horrible thing could you have done?"

She swallowed a bite of oatmeal and said solemnly, "Before I left home, I snuck the genome for my dog onboard with me. He was the only one I truly cared about on Earth. When he passed away, I joined the Initiative since I had no one left on Earth. When I got out of cryo, I tried to have him produced in secret. The higher ups found out and incarcerated me. When the Uprising happened, I got thrown out with most of the others."

Kaetus stared at her long and hard for a moment and then said slowly, "You got exiled… because you tried to make your dog…" Suddenly, he threw his head back in laughter.

Embarrassed, Sasha said, "Why is it funny?"

"That's like them putting an animal bone on your head and calling you a kett. Those Nexus pricks think they're all high and mighty. That wasn't a crime! For spirits' sake, you just wanted your dog. If I was there when that happened, they would've gotten my fist in their face."

Sasha blushed, not expecting Kaetus to stick up for her, even if it didn't really happen. "Well, if you did punch them, you would've gotten exiled too, but thank you."

As they continued eating, Kaetus noticed Kira had finally woken up from her snore-fest and trotted off into the other part of the cave. From this angle, Kaetus could finally see a sort of crooked corridor beyond the stalagmites that seemed to lead into another section of the cave. Kira returned with a bone in her mouth. With a challyrion-like skip in her step, she approached Kaetus and dropped the bone by his foot. Both Kaetus and Sasha looked at it and Kaetus reached down to pick it up. Kira became excited, shuffling her feet and looking up at him eagerly. He tossed the bone across the cave and Kira scampered into the direction it landed. She retrieved the bone and brought it back to Kaetus's feet. He threw it again.

As Kaetus and Kira played their game of fetch, Sasha watched them with a smile on her face.

"I think she's starting to grow on you too," she commented.

He shrugged. "Eh, I'm just throwing this bone for her, you know, giving her exercise. I can't not throw it, she'd sit there all damned day waiting for me to throw it."

Sasha chuckled, then said, "I think you'd be a good trainer. The trick to these animals is they seek a leader, someone to look up to, someone to give them purpose."

Kaetus froze for a moment as his mandibles clenched against his jaw. Her words reverberated in him, shook him deep down. _Give them purpose._ He didn't say anything as he threw the bone one last time. Sasha began to clean up and the sound of it, brought him out of his head.

"So, how have you been able to survive on Kadara?" He asked her.

As she placed the cleaned bowls in a rack that looked like its original purpose was to hold guns, she turned to him and crossed her arms. He could tell she was considering not telling him.

"I… kinda have a secret," she replied cautiously.

"Oh? And you won't tell me," he concluded.

"Well, I think I'm going to have to tell you anyway, but I need your most solemn oath or vow or promise or whatever you want to call it that even if you leave here and go about your life on Kadara, you will not tell a soul of this."

His brow bent forward, but he could feel the weight of this promise she requested of him and he said, "I promise on my life."

She reached her hand forward. "Swear it."

He dipped his hand into her soft, slender grasp and said, "I swear."

She shook his hand once firmly. "Okay, you need to follow me, but let me find something to help you walk."

Sasha went over to her crates and dug through her scrap for a moment until she found what looked to be a leg off of a machine. It had a padded food and was made of sturdy metal. "See how this treats you."

He used the table to help him stand and then he grabbed the padded end of the leg, putting his weight on it and his good leg. He hobbled forward and gave Sasha a nod of approval, but then looked down at himself. "Spirits, I look like an old man."

Sasha rolled her eyes. "You look perfectly fine to me, just a little banged up." She began to move towards the crooked corridor he spotted earlier, turned and said, "Now follow me."

To be continued...


	6. Chapter Six: Sasha's Secret

Chapter Six

Sasha's Secret

Sasha moved slowly for Kaetus and stayed close in case the crutch failed him. The corridor was a tight fit, but he was able to carefully squeeze through. He noticed some of the wires that connected the lamps snaked through the crevice along the floor. Once through it, it opened up into another cave chamber, a slightly bigger one. There were a few lamps scattered in this chamber as well and he noticed the generator that connected them all. At one end he saw the challyrions and the adhi playing in a nest of dead plants and cloth scraps. They all stopped and looked up when they saw the two enter. Not much else was in this chamber, but at the far end, he noticed something reflecting the lamp light like small strips of silvery ribbon. He stepped closer and saw a pool of water. It was technically two pools with a large stalagmite that jutted up between a larger pool and a smaller pool, but he saw water trickling down the cave wall into both of them. Sasha moved forward and dipped a cup into the larger pool. He didn't even notice she brought one. She brought the cup back to him and offered it.

"Have a drink," she said.

He eyed the cup suspiciously. "But, it's contaminated."

She rolled her eyes. "Just drink it."

He hesitated for a moment and then took the cup. He brought it to his mouth places and let a small amount trickle in. There was no burning sensation, no strong smell, just water. He took another sip, then a gulp, then he downed the entire cup. Afterwards, he looked down at the cup in his hands, his eyes wide and his mouth gaping as if it was a holy grail.

"It's… it's not contaminated?"

Sasha shook her head. "Perfectly clean water."

"But… how?"

She looked up at the ceiling of the cave and said, "Above us is a small lake, bad enough to burn your plates off. It apparently throws off any scanners looking for fresh water, but somewhere in the bottom of that lake is a fissure in what I assume is sulfide-free rock. The water that leaks through that fissure finds its way down here and must be naturally filtered by the rocks. I use the bigger pool for drinking and cooking and the smaller one for bathing and washing clothes."

Kaetus's mouth still hung open. Now he knew why she swore him to secrecy. This little cave could be worth a lot of credits. His mouth watered at the sound of it, but he couldn't do that to Sasha.

"How did you find this place?" He asked her.

"After I found the pups, I was looking for shelter. I happened to stumble onto this cave in my travels. I had only planned on camping near the mouth, but Fuff kept wandering deeper. He must've smelled the water or something. When they started drinking it, I knew it was safe. I've made my home here ever since. I wish I could share it with people, but I know they would abuse it."

Kaetus had to agree. It was probably a good idea that it was kept secret knowing the untrustworthy nature of Kadara. "This is truly incredible," he murmured. Seeing the water made him just want to jump in, then he realized he was still covered in dirt and dried blood on some parts of him and an idea sprung on him. "Sasha, you said the smaller pool is for bathing? Is there any way I could, ah… use it?"

Her eyes lit up like brilliant blue lights. "Oh, yes! Of course! Let me run and get you soap and a towel." She ran back into the deeper chamber and returned in moments with a cloth that wasn't quite a towel, but could be used as one and a bar of crude soap. She also brought a crate-stool. She set it down next to the water and he seated himself on it. "Are you going to be… uh… okay by yourself? N-not that I don't want to give you're your privacy! I just don't want you to hurt yourself any further."

He looked up at her and saw that color had bloomed in her cheeks. He never saw Sloane do that. He didn't really care whether or not Sasha saw him naked, but she was obviously embarrassed. "Just help me with the chest bandages. I'll do the leg and all the rest."

Sasha nodded as she began undoing the bandages, wishing she would've waited to change them. "Just try not to get your splint wet." She told him.

Once the bandages were off, Sasha left him in peace. He undid the bandages on his leg and then carefully pulled off his pants. He used the crutch to get him to the water and ever so slowly, he stepped in. The water was cool on his legs and felt like a knife in his leg wound, but he knew it needed it. He stepped further in as the water splashed against his pelvic spurs. This was as deep as the pool went, so he braced himself on the cave wall with is good hand and lowered himself. The water licked at every crack and crevice on his carapace, some of it was painful, some of it felt heavenly. Once he was fully seated on a flat enough spot, he leaned back as the water came up to his cowl and he was able to pull his mind from the pain and relax. This pool could probably fit about four more people in it, triple that for the larger one, but he was glad to have it all to himself. For a moment, he just closed his eyes and lost himself. Clean water was hard to come by on Kadara, that was no secret, but most people didn't realize that meant people not _bathing_ as often as they should. Sure, there were showers in Kadara Port that had filtered water, but they were limited and even though he was Sloane's second, even he was sometimes denied one. He got used to the sweaty, musky scent of Kadara's dirty citizens, hell, reminiscing about it made him kind of _miss_ it in an odd way. He did find solace in the showers, but it had been ages since he had a bath. Even though the water was cool, he savored every minute of it.

After a while of resting in the water, he decided to finally clean himself. He opened his eyes, reached for the bar of soap and met eyes with Kira. She sat next to the pool of water watching him with her head slightly cocked.

"You're going to watch me bathe now?" He said with irritation. Then he noticed the others, still in their nest, but watching him. "Oh great, now it's an audience." He remembered what Sasha told him, pointed his finger and said, "Uh… out." Kira's head cocked to the other side. "Out, I said! Out!" Still nothing.

Kaetus sighed as he tried his best to ignore the animals as he rubbed the soap over his body and gently over his wounds, but his eyes kept glancing over at the creatures, especially Kira whose gaze never shifted off of the bathing turian.

When Kaetus rinsed all the soap off of him, he stepped out of the bath and dried off. Kira helped by licking his wet toes. He tried to push her away, but that just resulted in a boomerang effect. He put his old pants back on and draped the makeshift towel around his cowl. He took a moment to look back at the pool and the blue tint of blood he left in the smaller one. Then he spotted something he didn't notice before. It was a shiny slab of metal that was hooked onto a jutting piece of rock. It acted as a mirror. Kaetus had a look at his face and he scowled. The swelling and bruising around his left eye caused a greenish hue to his skin beneath his plates. The crack in his brow plate had pretty much cracked it in two and his one mandible tip was completely gone. The whole side of his face was deformed. Sloane never really said anything about his looks, whether she found him attractive or not, but it was still disheartening to see himself like this. It didn't matter anyway. Sloane would never see his face again.

Before he ended up in another thrall of despair, he headed back into the other chamber with Kira at his heels. He found Sasha sitting on the edge of her bed cleaning a piece of armor she must've scavenged at some time. Her impossibly blue eyes found him and she smiled. "Enjoy the bath?"

"Yes," he replied, "even though I had an audience."

Her eyes fell on his shadow, Kira, and she laughed.

"Hey, I kind of dirtied up the water pretty bad, how do you clean it out?" He asked.

She waved her hand expressing the unimportance of the issue. "Oh, I'll get it cleaned out. I use this little hand pump I found somewhere, not sure what its original use was, but I made it so it sucks up all the water into a basin. Then I dump it out and suck up some of the water from the bigger pool into the smaller pool and then the tiny waterfall fills it the rest of the way."

He scowled. "That's nice and all, but I really don't want you to clean out my bath water."

"I understand, but I will eventually want a bath and I can't wait for you to be able to clean it all on your own. You can help if you want."

With a sigh he said, "Fine." Kaetus hung the wet towel on a stalagmite and rubbed the back of his neck absently. "Thank you for that."

"For what?"

"For showing me your secret, letting me use it to bathe, and… well… for everything I guess."

Her pink lips spread into a wide smile and her blue eyes sparkled for a moment. "You're very welcome, Kaetus."

To be continued...


	7. Chapter Seven: Stars and Stories

Chapter Seven

Stars and Stories

Cleaning out the bathing pool was a bit of a chore. The hand pump Sasha had wasn't very strong so it took a good two hours to get the water pumped out. Kaetus was glad he was able to use his good hand to help her. The pump had a nozzle on one end, the pump mechanism at the center and a hose at the other end. Sasha put an empty basin at the end of the hose to collect the water and they took turns pumping the water out.

Once the old water was dumped in a trench Sasha had dug out some time ago and began absorbing into the ground, clean water was pumped from the bigger pool. Then the two of them went back into the smaller chamber and began to enjoy another meal. While they ate, a thought struck Kaetus and he asked her, "What time is it? How can you tell what time of day it is when you live in a hole?"

"Hey, this is the best damn hole on the planet," she said shooting him a playful glare from across the crate-table. "I just keep track of time on my omni-tool. It's seven at night. Sun just went down."

Kaetus felt a little stupid forgetting the omni-tool, but it was strangely easy to forget when he didn't have access to it. He lifted his arm out of habit anyway though.

Sasha leaned forward and touched his shoulder. He tensed, but only for a moment. He was beginning to get used to Sasha's insistent physical contact, but what seemed like nothing to her, was odd to him. No one in Kadara Port would touch his shoulder out of sympathy. No one on the turian ark would either. Or the turian military or even his childhood home.

"We'll get it fixed eventually." She told him, but she saw the disappointment in his face and got an idea. "How about we go outside? You can see for yourself what time of day it is. Get some fresh air?"

His mandibles flared slightly in a near smile. "Sure."

Sasha cleaned up dinner and Kaetus helped by handing her the plates they'd used. It felt good to be able to do things. He kind of felt like he'd been taking his ability to do things for granted and it only took him his time spent unable to do anything to realize that. Oh, what he'd give to walk without a limp again, or see completely through both eyes, or fire a gun with his right hand.

Once everything was cleaned up, Sasha began to lead the way outside. She gave Kaetus a little handheld flashlight and kept one for herself to light up parts of the cave that didn't have lamps. They headed back into the pool chamber, then through another cave corridor, which lead to a long, narrow chamber that twisted and turned as if it was burrowed by a giant snake. When they reached the mouth, Kaetus was losing his breath and he cursed his weakness, but once the fresh air hit his lungs, his anger disappeared. They switched off their lights and Sasha led him to a little ledge at the mouth where they could both sit. Kaetus leaned his crutch on the cave wall, took a seat next to her and lifted his eyes up to the stars.

He'd never seen a view like this on Palaven and in Kadara Port, well, he just never paid it any attention. Now that it seemed like all he had was time, he was really able to appreciate the incredible view. Each and every star sparkled like those little lights he saw humans put up in the winter. He'd never known stars to be any color other than white, but without the interference of manmade lights, he saw blues, yellows, oranges and a rainbow of many others scattered all across the deep blue, nearly black, sky. He never knew there could be so many stars. He saw little clouds of stardust, and spots of the more ominous Scourge, sprayed across space like an airbrush painting. Even seeing them from a ship wasn't the same. It made him think about the excitement he felt when he was a child looking up at the stars and for some reason, maybe it was the view or his emotional state, but he stirred to speak about it.

"You know," he began, "when I was about six, I looked up at the stars and told my father I wanted to be a space explorer."

Sasha turned to him and smiled. "What did he say to that?"

Kaetus didn't smile, nor did he look at Sasha. "He told me there was nothing left for me to explore. He said we found all there was to find."

Sasha's smile faded. "Why would he tell you that? There's still a lot more to discover in the Milky Way. Well, I don't know about now since we haven't been there for over six hundred years, but you were only six then."

"He didn't want me chasing after unrealistic dreams. He wanted me grounded, obedient. So, I no longer wanted to be a space explorer after that."

"What did you want to be?"

He shrugged. "Nothing. I didn't have room for dreams, only duty."

"I didn't know your father at all, but that sounds like something he would say."

Kaetus chuckled. "He did say that." He paused for a moment, wondering if it was worth continuing, but he found himself being comforted talking to Sasha, as if he knew she wouldn't judge him or berate him, so he went on. "My father raised me to follow orders. So naturally, my whole life, I was a follower. Anytime I dared to dream or try and be my own person, I would get verbally struck down by him… and sometimes physically. It just became second nature to me to be this dutiful soldier. I followed my father's every command, I followed my squad captain's every command, I followed the Initiative's every command. I… I think that's why I connected with Sloane. She was this commanding presence who took control of a kett-ridden Kadara Port. I guess it drew me in like a magnet. Maybe… I don't know… maybe I'm just some fucked up masochist who likes to get pushed around by someone. Maybe that's who my father wanted me to be."

"Kaetus…" He heard her say in a wispy voice. He turned to her and the sight of her nearly took his breath away. The starlight cast a halo of white fire on the edges of her hair and her eyes glistened like the stars themselves. Suddenly, he realized her eyes were wet. She was crying for him. No one had ever cried for him before. There were people with far worse stories than his, but seeing her there, bathed in starlight and with tears in her eyes, tears for him, nearly made him pull her into his arms.

But he didn't. It wouldn't be right since he was with Sloane a little over a week ago. He was honestly surprised with himself that the thought even came to him. So he just held the urge back, grunted and said, "Don't cry for me."

Sasha wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. You should let out your emotions you know. I know you hold back, I mean, you haven't even cried over Sloane. I'm not telling you what to do, but if you don't let your feelings out, they'll come out in ways you won't want them to."

Kaetus grabbed his crutch and stood up. "I'm fine," he said, his tone more clipped than he intended.

As he turned back towards the mouth of the cave, he heard Sasha say, "Do you need-"

"No, I don't need you." His words cut through hers like a knife. Even though his back was to her, he could tell she was shocked at his sudden change of attitude, but he wasn't even sure how or why it changed.

"Well then, I'm heading to bed. Goodnight, Kaetus." Her words were pleasant sounding, but he knew there was anger behind them. She moved past him without even a glance in his direction and she along with her little light, were swallowed by the cave.

Kaetus rubbed a hand over his face, ignoring the tenderness that remained in his eye and nose. Why was he so angry? She only wanted to help. He looked up at the stars again for a few moments, then sighed as he headed back into the cave. The animals were asleep when he passed their nest and when he entered the last chamber, he saw that the lamps had been dimmed and there was already a fiery lump in the bed. For a moment, he wished she was Sloane, then maybe, just maybe she would let him climb into bed and relieve some of this anger that came out of nowhere. But she wasn't Sloane.

Kaetus limped over to his mat and began pacing, which he found hard to do with his crutch. At one point, he got so annoyed with the crutch he lifted it over his head and went to smash it into the floor of the cave, but he stopped, afraid he would wake Sasha if she was even asleep. He put it back down and gripped it so hard he could've sworn he felt the metal bend. He kept thinking, _Why am I so fucking angry? Someone is finally showing you kindness and you push her away by being an asshole… why?! Because she's not Sloane that's why. You want Sloane, but she's dead. Sloane. Is. Dead. Get the fuck over it. No, you're really angry because you're starting to like Sasha and you can't handle it. You can't handle someone being nice to you, caring for you like a real person and not treating you like the tool that you are. And you can't handle the thought of betraying someone who is_ dead. _Sasha is not and never will be Sloane._

To be continued...


	8. Chapter Eight: Falling Apart

Chapter Eight

Falling Apart

 _Everything is just so fucked up._

That night, Kaetus didn't sleep. He couldn't sleep. His mind was racing and his blood was bubbling hot, boiling beneath his plates. He didn't even respond to Sasha when she woke and told him she was going to get a bath. He sat on the empty crate by his mat as he stared into the floor. He was still so angry and still he couldn't understand why. Sure, he was upset, sad even, but why was he so fucking mad?!

He lost Sloane, he lost his father and he lost his life as he knew it, but why did it suddenly feel like everything was falling apart? It felt as if the floor was breaking apart beneath his feet and there's nothing he could do about it. When he first learned of Sloane's death, he didn't know what to do, so he just did nothing. He just laid there expecting death to take him as well, but now, looking back on his memories with Sloane, his father and even his military captain, it just seemed like maybe the universe simply hated him. He'd lost everyone. Without someone to tell him what to do, he was lost, as if he'd been spaced and floating aimlessly through the cosmos. He always had someone. Someone to guide him, someone to swear loyalty to, someone to protect, someone to give him a purpose, but now he had no one. He stood and pressed his forehead onto the cave wall. He wanted to slam his fist into the wall, release every emotion onto the rock, but he didn't want to end up with another broken hand, so instead, he dug the claws on his good hand into the wall. Dust and pebbles fell from the grooves he began making in the cool, grey stone, but it wasn't enough. He needed to release everything that was pent up inside him.

Suddenly, he heard a noise and turned to see that Sasha had returned. She ambled in with a towel tucked her arm, her hips swaying with every small step. Her hair was in wet, blood red waves down her back and she was in a thin-strapped shirt that clung to her curves and a pair of shorts that showed off her soft, pale human legs. She hung the towel over a stalagmite and her eyes caught his.

"Hey," she asked softly, looking at him with concern in her expression, "are you okay?"

Kaetus stared at her for the longest time. His chest heaved with every breath as his insides did battle. He felt weak and useless and hated himself for it, but Sasha's worried gaze didn't falter. He didn't know why he went to her. His legs just seemed to move on their own accord. He guessed it had something to do with every type of emotion that was storming within him. That, plus the sight of her made him ache for something physical. He wanted something familiar. He needed to be needed. Even with his limp, he moved quickly.

"Kateus, what are you…" Her words were severed as his body collided with hers and backed her against the uneven cave wall, nearly knocking into the heating unit. His face came nose to nose with hers as his hands began stroking her arms, taking in the softness of her skin.

"Tell me what you want." His words were like painful cries for help as he kept his eyes lowered.

His body pressed harder into hers and he bent his head so that his mouth plates grazed her shoulder. Then his good hand began traveling up her stomach, following the curve of her waist.

Sasha pushed against him. "Kaetus…" she said sternly.

He didn't listen. It was as if he was in a trance, hypnotized by his turmoil. He traced his mouth over her shoulder and up her neck as he breathed against her skin, "Let me serve you."

She pushed him again, but it was like pushing stone, which was surprising to her given his injured state. "Kaetus!"

His mouth moved to her jaw, just below her ear as one hand gripped her arm as tight as he could with the splint and the other moved further up her body.

"Kaetus, stop!" Sasha pleaded.

"I need you to tell me what to do to please you," he whispered sorrowfully into her ear.

"No you don't, Kaetus." Sasha placed both hands on either side of his face and moved him so she could meet his pained eyes. "Kaetus, you are your own person. You don't need me, you don't need Sloane, your father or anyone else."

"Give me a purpose, Sasha," he said, his voice near tears.

"Your purpose is to live, Kaetus, that's all. Following orders, being someone's pet, that is not a purpose, it's a choice. And even if you make that choice, you are still you. I know you are loyal Kaetus, that is who you are, but you have to make room for yourself too. That little space explorer is in there somewhere and it's okay to let him out. It's okay to be just Kaetus, to only depend on yourself." Sasha saw the tornado of emotions in his eyes. All the pain, sadness, anger, and everything in between that raged within them.

Kaetus didn't know what to say. He always thought he knew who he was, now it felt like he hardly knew himself at all. He was a stranger in his own body. He'd always done what he was told and in doing so, he thought he was doing what he wanted, but in reality, he was doing what they wanted. He'd always followed his orders.

With no other words to say, Kaetus simply murmured, "Sasha…" as he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck. Then, for the first time ever, Sasha heard the mournful cries of a turian.

To be continued...


	9. Chapter Nine: Giving In

Chapter Nine

Giving In

Kaetus woke to another strange sound, but this time, it wasn't the unpleasant sound of a challyrion snoring. This was something beautiful. It was music, specifically singing. The song was soft and sweet, the words having something to do with true love. Though quiet, almost a whisper, it filled the chamber and the quiet sound of it flowed like a gentle current all around him, embracing him. It wasn't Kaetus's typical choice of music, but it was soothing and nearly lulled him back to sleep.

Kaetus was suddenly brought out of his relaxing state when the singing abruptly stopped and was replaced with the sound of something breaking and a hiss that said, "Ah, shit."

He opened his eyes and turned to see Sasha sitting at the table. Her back was to him, but he could tell she was fiddling with something. She was bent over the table, her unruly mane of hair tied up in a tail that hung to her neck. He realized it must've been her singing and he thought, _Spirits, she sings too._ Then he realized he wasn't on his mat. He was in Sasha's bed. He dragged a hand over his face when he remembered how he ended up there.

He had tried to get Sasha into bed. Well, if he could call that trying. He really didn't know what he was doing at the time. His head was just this bubbling cesspool of anger, sorrow and self-hate. Luckily, Sasha saw right through it and talked him out of it. Then, he cried. He actually _cried._ He hadn't cried since he was a child. Badass Kaetus was crying like a baby… and she still held him. He cried into her shoulder for what seemed like an eternity and she just held him, no judgement, no mocking or scolding. Eventually, weakness from not sleeping dragged him down and Sasha let him collapse on her bed. He then fell into a deep sleep.

Now that he was rested, he had a chance to really think about what happened and he knew it was wrong. He should've never forced himself on Sasha like that. He sat up slowly and the sound of it caused Sasha to turn and look at him.

"Oh, sorry," she said, "did I wake you?"

He shook his head.

"Are you hungry?"

He shook his head again.

"Well, do you-"

"How can you go on like earlier didn't happen?" He interrupted.

"Kaetus, you were in pain. People do crazy things when they're hurting. I knew you wouldn't have harmed me."

He looked down at the floor and nodded absently. After a moment he murmured, "Well, even so, I'm… sorry."

Sasha stood up and then sat down next to him. "Forgiven, forgotten," she told him as she patted him gently on the arm. "You don't have to be ashamed with me. You can speak truthfully. It will never leave this cave, I promise you this."

A tense silence fell between them and after a few minutes, Kaetus let out a ragged sigh and said, "I did love her. I know it was fucked up. I know she didn't love me. I know she used me, but I didn't think there was any other possibility for me. Being pushed around and told what to do, it… was just natural to me, familiar. Funny thing is, anyone else that tried telling me what to do would've been looking down the barrel of my gun. There was always just that one person I needed, but I always seemed to let them down."

"It wasn't your fault that Sloane got killed," she told him.

"Wasn't it? We'd known for months that the Collective was out to get us, but I got too cocky, too confident and let my guard down. That's when they struck. Once I was out of the way, they just had to get to Sloane and her ego. And you know, it's not just Sloane. My captain, Aeven, was killed saving my ass too." He shook his head as the memories came rushing back again, but this time he wasn't holding back, he had to get it out. "I followed his every command, his every move. During a raid on a mercenary outpost that tried settling on Palaven's moon, I got reckless. I thought I could prove my worth by taking out the leader in one shot. Aeven commanded me to fall back, but the one time I tried listening to my judgement rather than orders, I ended up with a bullet in my shoulder. There was a sniper I didn't see and when Aeven came to pull me out of the line of fire, he got a bullet in his head. We retreated and I was nearly incarcerated for being responsible for the death of my captain, but my father pulled some strings so the charges were dropped. Instead, I was dishonorably discharged. After that, my father couldn't even look me in the eye, but then, even when things were at their worst, there was still a small ray of light during that time. I began working at a warehouse and I met a girl. A personnel employee named Lania. I fell hard and fast for her. When I tried to get my father to give his blessing, he refused. I told him I loved her, but he said, 'Love doesn't exist. Only loyalty and survival.' Then I found out the hard way how far my father's strings went. He had connections everywhere and got Lania's managers to relocate her to another facility. She reluctantly moved away and I assume either got paid or threatened to keep her mouth shut, because she could never bring herself to tell me where she was going. She broke off all contact.

A few years after that, my father got sick. Being the dutiful son, I stayed at his deathbed until he was gone. Then I was truly lost. That's when I heard of the Initiative. They were hesitant to recruit me due to my dishonorable discharge, but I guess I was expendable. At first, I kind of felt like that little space explorer again. It was exciting. I was going to a whole new galaxy, but the weight of my past kept me grounded. I wasn't going to make the same mistakes again."

Sasha was quiet for a little while, taking in his story and then she said, "You know, it is messed up, but it really does make sense why you are this way. Everything in your past shaped you."

"So it's inevitable. You're saying I'm too fucked up to be normal?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying. Your past may have shaped you, but you can always be reshaped. We learn from our pasts, our memories, and how we let them affect us is completely up to us. Nothing is _wrong_ with you, Kaetus. You're not fucked up, but now that you're older and wiser, you can make changes if you want to."

At first Kaetus said nothing. He thought hard about what Sasha said. Even after pouring out everything, she still believed he could change, he could be himself for once. The only thing was, he wasn't sure how to, but because she believed in him, he nodded as he said, "Well, I guess I can give it a try. You're right. Our paths aren't set in stone."

She smiled at him and it seemed to brighten up the whole room. Again, he felt the urge to just hold her and tell her how much he appreciated everything she's done for him, but he held back. He suppressed the urge, telling himself it wasn't right. At least not yet.

"By the way," he said to her, giving her a playful elbow shove, "I didn't know you could sing."

Her eyes widened. "You heard me? Oh, damnit." Her entire face went red as she buried it in her hands.

Kaetus laughed. "Don't be ashamed! It was really good, well at least until the cursing part."

Sasha just groaned and said, "I just sometimes sing when I'm working on something. I guess it helps me focus."

"What were you working on?" Kaetus's attention was drawn to the table where a tangle of wires and circuits were spread across.

"Oh, well it's actually part of a vehicle. I found an outlaw vehicle a while ago and I've been trying to get it to work, but I'm not very good at mechanics. I think all that belonged to the vehicle's computer. There were some burnt wires, so I was trying to fix it, hoping it would help the vehicle to work."

"Maybe I could help you?" He suggested.

An excited grin spread across her face. "That would be awesome."

Kaetus didn't know a whole lot about mechanics, but he had learned a thing or two from the vagrants of Kadara Port. He followed Sasha to where she kept the vehicle. It was surprisingly in the long chamber beyond the pools hidden under a camouflaged covering. It had blended so perfectly in a dark corner against the rocks, Kaetus hadn't even noticed it. When she uncovered it, the first thing he saw was the bullet holes that peppered the whole driver's side. He gave Sasha a suspicious glance.

"It wasn't me," she said, throwing her hands up in defense. "I found it at an outlaw camp not too far from here. It took me nearly all day to push it here. Luckily, there was a lot of downhill slopes since the camp was on higher ground."

Kaetus limped to the front, leaving his crutch propped against the tire. He found the latch to the hood and lifted it. The gunfire had penetrated some things and fixing them with scrap might not have been the best plan.

After he concluded his first assessment, he said, "I think the cooling chamber has been cracked. If we can find something to patch it, we can refill it with water. I think that computer you have is part of the life systems regulator, we might not need it to run it. I'm not sure what this is," he pointed to a metallic block that had a hole on its side, "but it definitely needs replacing."

Sasha pulled up her omni-tool. "According to this engine blueprint I found circulating some communication feeds, I think that may be the starter. We also need a new tire and a patch in the fuel line. Those are the things I found wrong with it so far, but I didn't notice the cooling chamber. Good eye."

Kaetus leaned over the engine and looked at her. "So, a lot of work, but it's doable. Ready to dive into some of your scrap?"

She grinned at him. "Let's get to it."

To be continued...


	10. Chapter Ten: Gifts

Chapter Ten

Gifts

The next week passed quickly for Kaetus. Every day was a routine, other than the days Sasha went to the port to find parts and replenish supplies. On those days, he spent his time with Kira and the other animals, either playing fetch or trying to learn to command them. At this point he seemed to think they were never going to listen to him. They usually just stared at him or tried to sleep on him.

On the days Sasha stayed in, they worked on the vehicle, sometimes he would catch Sasha singing as she concentrated. This made him flare a smile, which made her blush. Kaetus also began helping her cook their meals, feed the animals and do other chores and no longer needed his crutch. He still had a slight limp, but it was manageable. Most importantly though, the swelling in his face was nearly nonexistent. The crack in his brow plate would always be there and there still was some discoloration to his skin, but he could see and that was what he was most thankful for. His chest was still scarred and tender in places, but for the most part, he was healed.

The cave had now become his home. He even would call it that when Sasha returned from the port and he would greet her with, "Welcome home." Sasha helped him build a raised bed on some metal boxes and found another mat to place on top of his old one for extra comfort. They even strung a makeshift curtain around it to offer him privacy, plus it helped in keeping away unwanted cuddles from Kira.

Nights were spent eating dinner, cleaning and sorting scrap or sometimes Sasha would pull up a vid to watch on her omni-tool and project it on a cave wall. When it was time to retire to bed, Kaetus retreated to his little curtained area, while Sasha slept in her same bed across the cave chamber. Some nights Kaetus would lie awake thinking about Sloane, sometimes he would think about his father, or Aeven, or Lania, but mostly, he found his mind sneakily wandering onto thoughts of Sasha. Though he still felt bad for the night he had her up against the wall, he couldn't get the memory of her soft body against his out of his head. Each passing night, he thought less and less of Sloane and more of Sasha.

On the day they finished their repairs to the vehicle, Sasha made a trip to Kadara Port to purchase some fuel. Her trips usually took most of the day. It took her two hours to walk there, plus the time it took to get what she needed, then two hours to walk back, sometimes longer depending on her load. Kaetus had always requested she take him with her, but due to the injuries and the Collective's hold on the port, she did not think it was a good idea. He hated the thought of her walking the wilds by herself, but one thing he could give her and did give her, was gun training. She kept a pistol under her bed for when she trekked to the port and she wasn't a bad shot, but Kaetus showed her how to be better. He set up targets outside the cave and taught her how to shoot, but even though he trusted his training and trusted her to utilize it, he still hated when she ventured out alone.

After about six hours since her departure, Kaetus decided to wait for her at the mouth of the cave. Kira and the others joined him, scuffling and playing, Fuff always being the one to bite too hard or play too rough. Luckily, the younger ones were getting big enough to bite back.

Kaetus kept his eye on the horizon as he thought about all the trouble Sasha had gone through for him the past few weeks. He wished he could do something for her, maybe give her a token of his appreciation. He wasn't even sure what women liked. He knew of typical human things like chocolates or jewelry and the typical turian things like guns and ammo, but where would he even get any of that? He looked down at the ground and saw a small bush of weeds that sprouted between two rock formations. There were small pink flowers that blossomed all over it.

He wondered if it was a little too cliché as he found all different types of flowers in the area and picked an entire handful of them, but then he figured it was the best he could do in his situation. He took the flowers inside and placed them in a cup he filled with clean water, then set it on the crate-table. There was a glob of pinks, a few spots of purple and a couple of blue blooms that stuck awkwardly out of the cup like the frayed ends of an old broom. Now that he looked really hard at it, he realized it looked stupid and he reached to just throw them all away, but he stopped when he heard Sasha's voice.

"What are you up to in here?"

He spun around to see her turning off the engine to her hover-crate and said, "Oh, nothing."

She glanced at the table. "Are those flowers?"

He shrugged. "Well, yeah, I guess so. I was bored and thought the place needed some sprucing up."

She smirked at him. "You got me flowers?"

"Well… yeah, I mean, of course they are for you, they're not for the animals."

She giggled and Kaetus flared a smile. "Thank you, they're lovely. And I actually have something for you too."

His brow plates bent forward and he crossed his arms as he let out a huffing breath. "Doesn't that kind of take away from me getting you something?"

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, think of it as replacement effort."

"A what?"

She reached into the hover-crate and pulled out something fairly big. "I actually sold that life systems regulator for the vehicle. It was actually worth quite a lot. The vehicle turns on, but for us to really test it, we need to go on a scrap run."

"We?"

She placed the thing on the crate-table, carefully so not to knock the flowers, and replied, "Yes, we. You had your armor and weapons taken from you, so I spent a little of that extra money getting you replacements."

He realized what she had put on the table was a turian armor chest piece. It was obviously used, but it was in pretty decent condition minus a few dents and scuffs. It was a metallic green with silver trim. "You got me a chest piece?"

She held up a finger. "Not just a chest piece." She began pulling other items out of the crate. "This set is complete with gloves, boots, a new body suit and an assault rifle. Unfortunately the gloves do not match and the pants were missing, but it was the best I could afford without burning a hole in my pockets."

He grazed his fingers over the armor. _Damn,_ he thought, _this definitely beats my flowers._

"I, uh… don't know what to say," he murmured.

"Say you'll go on a scrap run tomorrow!" She said excitedly, playfully shoving his arm.

His mandibles flared. "Yes, of course I will."

"Great," she said with a wide grin, "we can get this armor cleaned up tonight and tomorrow, we're going to hit up some scrap!" She moved to pull the container of fuel out of the crate, but paused and turned back. "Oh, and Kaetus, I really do love the flowers."

To be continued...


	11. Chapter Eleven: Scrap Run

Chapter Eleven

Scrap Run

Kaetus felt strange being in armor that wasn't his. The chest piece was a little snug and the gloves were a tad loose, but as strange as it was, it also felt good. It felt good to have a gun in his hand again, thought it was his left, and it felt good to be out on a mission, and it also felt good to be doing it with Sasha.

As he pulled himself up in the passenger seat, he turned to Sasha who just buckled herself into the driver's side. Her wild red hair was up and wrapped into a fraying bun on the back of her head while rebellious little curls framed her face. "You double check your ammo?" She asked.

He nodded. "You made sure to grab extra fuel in case that fuel line patch doesn't hold?"

She nodded. "Alright, let's go."

Sasha initiated the controls to start the engine and it let out a loud sputter, then idled to a rumbling purr that resembled Kira's snore. Thinking of her and the other creatures made Kaetus ask, "Will the animals be okay with no one there?"

"They'll be fine. I've left them alone before you know."

He shrugged. "Alright, you're the expert. Let's get a move on."

Sasha seemed to hold her breath as she put the vehicle in drive and pressed her foot gently to the acceleration pedal. It sputtered again for a second, then suddenly lurched forward, tossing both their heads back against the seats. The vehicle clung to the corners of the cave as Sasha turned the wheel frantically in an attempt to navigate through the twisting tunnel, the vehicle coming just a hair away from the cave walls.

"Slow down!" Kaetus shouted, gripping his door handle as if his life depended on it.

Sasha lifted off the gas and pressed hard onto the brake and the vehicle stopped so hard, the back tires lifted off the ground and both she and Kaetus nearly slammed their faces into the dashboard. He turned to her, his eyes wide and his mandibles clenched.

She spread a forced grin and said, "At least the brakes work."

"Thank the spirits they work!" He cried.

"So it's a little touchy. I need time to get used to it. Don't get all grouchy."

He shook his head. "I'll be less grouchy when our lives are no longer in danger… and we haven't even left the cave yet!"

Sasha eased off the brake and let the vehicle inch forward. "I've got this, we're moving, chill out."

She kept it slow and steady as she drove the vehicle through the remainder of the cave and they both squinted as the sunlight hit them. She began heading west, which was their plan. There usually seemed to be more outlaw camps the closer they got to the port. The vehicle stayed steady as they climbed up a hill to get a vantage point, but Sasha didn't push it. It might've been slow, but at least it was safe.

When they reached the top of the hill, Sasha grabbed her visor, which used to be connected to a busted helmet she found. Now she used the visor as binoculars. She put it up to her eyes and zoomed in on the horizon.

"Hmm, looks like there's an outpost to the north, but looks occupied. We don't want any confrontation." Her head turned as she scanned further. "Ah, I thought there was a camp over there but a dropship just landed near it. Ugh, we might have to find a new spot… oh… wait a sec. Is that… the Pathfinder?"

Kaetus's body tensed. "The human Pathfinder?"

"I think so. I think that's his vehicle. He's heading over to that outlaw outpost. Oh yeah, he's clearing them out. I thought he was long gone. He must've had some loose ends to tie up here. If we just wait here, we can go clean up his mess."

"Or…" Kaetus said, his tone dark. "We can go there before he leaves, when he least expects us."

Sasha turned to him. "Kaetus, I will not declare war on the Pathfinder. I know you hate him for what he did, but if you go after him you're going to make a whole lot of new enemies. Let's just focus on looting the leftovers."

He sighed. If it were up to him, they would've already been there, but Sasha did have a point. Plus, he wasn't at one hundred percent just yet. "I guess you're right. It was more the Charlatan's doing anyway."

She looked back into the visor and said, "Looks like he's done. Let's go."

Kaetus could tell Sasha was uncomfortable around dead people as soon as he saw her exit the vehicle like something was going to jump out and eat her. It was like her body shriveled up as she stepped lightly, hunching over her pistol she had clutched to her chest.

"You okay?" He asked.

She looked at him, her blue eyes wide, and she nodded. "I just hate how he leaves them all like this. I've seen it before, but I still hate it."

Kaetus shrugged. "I guess when you kill so many things a day, you don't have time for funerals." He quickly surveyed the area. There were some boxes, crates and machinery all scattered outside with the corpses and there was one small building. "You start looking around out here, I'm going to check inside and make sure there's no stragglers."

She nodded as she approached some crates and began peeking inside. Kaetus readied his rifle awkwardly in his left hand as he stepped carefully towards the building. He moved up the ramp and the door slid open in response to his presence. With his gun leading the way, he inspected the interior. There were two dead people crumpled up against the back wall. One turian and one human. There weren't many places to hide in such a small space, so he predicted he wouldn't find anyone else. Stored against the walls, he did find some communication equipment, some weapons caches, and some other supplies, all neatly placed. Neat enough for outlaws anyway. Kaetus glanced down at the fallen turian and noticed he was shot through the chest, but his helmet was still intact. It looked to be in fairly good shape. He didn't really like taking things off of a dead person, but the bottom line was this turian was dead. He no longer needed the helmet, but as he pulled it off and looked down at the light colored plates and yellow markings of his lifeless face, Kaetus whispered a prayer, something he rarely ever did.

"Thank you, brother. Spirits guide you to your resting place."

He put the helmet in a weapons cache and tossed in some medical supplies, ammo and food rations. Then he clipped his rifle to his back and headed back out, dragging the cache out behind him.

"Hey, Sasha, you might want to see what you want in here. With the vehicle we can carry a whole… lot…" His words tapered as he saw Sasha crouched behind a generator with fear in her eyes.

She looked at him and gestured for him to get down. He set the cache down and turned as his eyes fell upon an eiroch hulking towards the outpost. He was about to step back into the building and hopefully wait for it to pass, but it was too late. It saw him.

To be continued...


	12. Chapter Twelve: Rampage

Chapter Twelve

Rampage

The eiroch charged and had thunder in every step as Kaetus reached for his rifle and began firing. His aim was weak shooting from his left, but as he leapt for cover behind some crates, he got a few good hits. He struck the ground hard. Pain tore through him and all his old wounds, but he had to put his trust in his armor and hope his wounds didn't reopen.

As the eiroch stampeded past him, he was able to get a few more shots in its rear. Its back leg gave out for a moment, but it quickly regained and turned on him again. He rolled out of the way, grunting at the fire that spread through him. The eiroch barreled into the crates where he was just taking cover second ago, sending parts flying through the air. Kaetus ducked behind a rock and was briefly startled by an asari corpse that was awkwardly hunched over it. She died with her gun in her hand fighting the Pathfinder.

He lifted his eyes over the rock and saw that the eiroch lost sight of him, but unfortunately, found Sasha and Sasha was frozen with fear.

"Shit," he muttered and fired at the thing again, emptying his clip as it turned back to him. The thing was getting weaker and slower, but it still had enough strength to trample him if he allowed it to get close. Suddenly, he realized he had no extra ammo. That was one of the things they were meant to be collecting.

Panic lined his voice as he shouted, "Sasha, shoot it!"

She looked at him from across the outpost, her eyes filled with despair and her skin as white as a ghost. "I… I can't!"

"Shoot it, damnit!"

"I can't! I.. I can't kill it!" She cried, her voice cracking.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!"

The eiroch was nearly in arms reach when Kaetus suddenly remembered the dead asari's pistol. He wrung it from her cold grasp, aimed and fired right into the eiroch's mouth, point blank. The creature gurgled for a moment, then fell over. He stood and saw Sasha huddled against the generator. He stormed over to her.

"What the hell was that? What do you mean you can't kill it? Because it's an animal? I knew you were an animal lover, but that was ridiculous!"

"Please stop yelling at me," she murmured. "I couldn't kill it."

"So you'd let it kill me?! What, did you want to take it home, make it part of the pack?"

She looked up at him and he saw tears lining her eyes. "I'm sorry, okay?! I froze up. It wasn't that it was an animal… I just… I just can't kill things! Why do you think I'm a scavenger, not an outlaw?"

His mandibles clenched tight against his jaw. "Let's just loot this place and get out of here."

The majority of the journey home was quiet. They packed what they could carry from the outpost without overloading the vehicle and made their way back.

As they neared the cave, Sasha broke the tense silence and said, "Kaetus, I'm really sorry. I… I guess I was caught off guard and didn't know what to do."

"It's okay," he replied. He felt his anger simmer. He couldn't stay mad at her. "You just have to expect the unexpected out in the wilderness. I didn't train you to use that gun for nothing."

She chuckled softly. "Yes, I know."

They both felt the tension ease up as they pulled into the cave. Sasha went slowly around the bends and when she had enough room, she turned the vehicle around to back it into its parking spot. When she turned the engine off, they both stepped out and were greeted by the challyrions and the adhi. Sasha took a rake-like tool she'd made to cover up their tire tracks outside the cave, while Kaetus began unloading some of the boxes and crates they had in the back of the vehicle. Sasha met Kaetus back in the living chamber when they were done. He'd already broke into one of the food caches they had found and pulled out what looked like some sort of meat jerky. Sasha followed the trend and got herself a snack as well.

Even though he had a near death experience with an eiroch, Kaetus had to admit he enjoyed the scrap run. It felt good to get out and he found that it felt even better with Sasha. Sure, she had a problem with killing things, but it didn't change his admiration for her. He suddenly realized that he hadn't once thought of Sloane for at least the past few days. His thoughts mainly revolved around Sasha and enjoying every moment with her, even when she was unable to shoot a rampaging eiroch.

"So," Sasha said, drawing him out of his own head, "other than me being an incompetent partner, how'd you enjoy the run? You feeling okay after taking dives like that?"

He laughed. "I'm okay, a little sore, but fine. And I loved the run. Really felt like I'm nearly ready to go and…" His words stopped as he thought about what the future had in store for him. "Well, damn, I hadn't considered what I'm going to do."

His eyes met with Sasha's, but no words passed between them at first. In his mind, he longed for her to ask him to stay. He didn't mind being a scavenger with her. Besides, she would eventually need protection from things she'd be too afraid to kill.

Sasha averted her eyes, opened her mouth to say something, then paused as if she changed her mind. "Well," she said finally, "you can forget going back to Kadara Port. I would suggest finding a way to get off planet. Get away from the Collective at least until they forget about you."

Kaetus deflated as he nodded slowly. "Ah… off planet," he murmured, "probably a good idea."

The chamber fell silent again as neither of them could look each other in the eye. Kaetus would've asked her to allow him to stay, but it seemed obvious she did not want that.

To be continued...


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Confession

Chapter Thirteen

Confession

During dinner, after they both stripped off their armor and got comfortable in their body suits, Kaetus thought a lot while Sasha rambled on about a cat she had once saved from abusive owners. He wanted to listen, but his mind kept veering off. He thought about asking Sasha to let him stay and what that would mean for them. He couldn't deny that he had begun to feel attraction towards her, but whether or not she felt the same might've changed everything. He considered just asking to be her scavenging partner, a simple platonic relationship, but he foresaw it being torture for him eventually.

After dinner, Sasha pulled out a pack of cards she'd found at the outpost. "You ever play rummy?"

He raised a brow. "Rummy? Sounds like a child's game."

She laughed and began to explain the rules of the game as she dealt them each seven cards.

"So I need to get either three or more of the same card, just different suits or three cards in a row of the same suit?" He asked.

Sasha nodded. "Exactly. And you either have to pick a card up from the draw pile right here, or pick a card up from the discard pile here. You also have to discard a card every turn and if you pick up a card on the bottom of the discard pile, you have to pick them all up."

His brow furrowed as he looked at his cards. He already had two sixes and a king and jack of hearts, so he figured he'd aim for those two sets. He picked up a useless card and discarded it. He looked up at Sasha, who was absently tapping her chin as she picked up a card and inspected her hand closely. Then she put a finger between her pink lips and nibbled on the end of her nail. His eyes traveled down to her shoulders, where he could see part of them from her partially unzipped body suit. He briefly remembered when he had his mouth plates on one and how soft it felt. She had let her hair down and some locks draped over the front of her, like streaks of fire licking at the crevice between her plump breasts. The way she was sitting, leaned forward and arms folded in slightly, caused them to be pushed up and pressed together. Turians normally wouldn't bat an eye over a human's breasts, but knowing they were pleasure centers for human women made Kaetus enjoy them so much more than the average turian.

Sasha finally put down a card in the discard and Kaetus snapped his eyes away and back to his hand. He felt a little ashamed eyeing up her body like that, but that feeling of attraction was growing, more so than ever. It still felt a little wrong after losing Sloane, but it was as if Sasha opened up a whole new world for him and he was excited to share it with her. It wasn't just a physical attraction, he enjoyed being with her, which was why he didn't want to leave. He just had to tell her and he struggled thinking about how and when, but then he figured then was a good time as any.

As he picked up another card from the draw pile, he said to her, "So, uh, Sasha… there's something I need to tell you."

She looked up at him. "Hmm?"

He tapped his fingers on the table as he lowered his cards. "Well, uh, I don't want to make our friendship awkward, but I have to tell you this or it will eat me alive. I'm… having thoughts… about us… uh… as more than friends."

Her brows rose and color rushed to her cheeks. "Oh… um, well…"

"Look, you don't really have to say anything. It's okay if you don't like me back. I just wanted to let you know and get it off my chest."

The corner of her mouth lifted in a cute, fleeting grin. "It's not that I don't like you, Kaetus, I do like you, but I just don't think it's a good idea to get involved romantically right now." She reached over and placed her hand on his. "You're still healing. You need to get over Sloane completely before you jump into another relationship."

His jaw clenched as he thought to himself, _I am! I am over Sloane! She didn't even love me. I want you! You make me happy._

But he just nodded and flared a feigned smile. Sasha moved her hand away as he looked back at his cards. It took him a moment to regain, but when he did, he realized he'd picked up a six before. So he barked a triumphant "Hah!" as he laid down the three sixes. Behind it though, it did sting that she rejected him, but it was okay because she said, _I do like you._ It wasn't a stone cold, dead stop rejection. She liked him. She didn't push him away and he was perfectly content just being in her company.

When the game ended, much to Kaetus's disappointment, Sasha had won, but he did enjoy seeing the little victory dance she performed. He laughed out loud as he watched her jump up, throw her arms up and wiggle her hips side to side.

"Alright, alright," he said holding his hands up, "now that I know how to play, I'll kick your ass next time."

Sasha sat back down and began collecting the cards. "You're on." Once the cards were back in the box, she stood up and stretched and Kaetus tried not to watch. Then she pulled up her omni-tool and said, "Oh, it's not that late, but I think that run today wore me out."

"Wore _you_ out?" Kaetus shot back playfully.

She sighed. "I'm never going to live that down am I?"

He grinned. "Nope, might as well get used to it."

"Well, I'm going to call it a night," she said to him and moved her fingers to the zipper on her body suit, but then stopped and glanced at Kaetus.

Kaetus knew Sasha wore regular clothes under her body suit. They might've been a little skimpy, but nothing too over the top and yesterday, she wouldn't have cared about taking off her body suit in front of him. Now, she hesitated and blushed.

He moved his eyes off of her as he stood up. "I'll, uh, give you a few minutes."

He walked into the pool chamber and sat down on some boxes they'd emptied earlier. Like a moth to a flame, Kira had trotted over and curled up between his feet. He leaned down and patted her on the head as he cursed himself under his breath. Telling Sasha how he felt was a mistake. Their friendship was never this awkward, but now it was because of him.

To be continued...


	14. Chapter Fourteen: How It Should Be

Author's note: Just a warning, the mature rating really kicks in here...

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

How It Should Be

The awkward tension between Kaetus and Sasha continued for the next few days. They still enjoyed each other's company by playing cards, playing with the animals and talking. Sasha did most of the talking, telling stories of her days as a veterinarian. Kaetus's favorite was when a little puppy was brought in for stomach issues. They considered it to be worms or a virus, but it came out to be an entire pair of underwear lodged in his digestive system. Luckily, the puppy was saved. The underwear was not.

Those times were enjoyable, but when it came down to things that were considered a little embarrassing, even if it was never embarrassing before, the tension crept in again. Like when one of them had to change or get a bath. Not that Kaetus expected her to just invite him in with open arms, but the feeling that stuck between them like invisible mud, unable to see, unable to wade through, it was like torture.

Kaetus began to feel like Sasha didn't like him at all and she just didn't have the heart to tell him. He was, after all, not only a weak and pathetic mess, he also nearly forced himself on her, which he could never take back. He knew she forgave him for it, but it still hung around like a wasp buzzing in his brain, stabbing its stinger back into his memories. He wanted so desperately to just show her he was not really like that.

Sasha also thought that Kaetus was not yet over Sloane, but when he really thought about it, he was. He knew it must've seemed rushed, but once he realized that she never really loved him, it was much easier to get over her. He just had to get Sasha to understand that and one night, Kaetus decided it was time to clear the air.

"We need to talk," he told her as he had his back turned to her while she removed her body suit getting ready for bed. He turned around as she sat down on the edge of the bed in her camisole and shorts.

"About?" She asked.

"About you and I."

She shook her head. "Kaetus, I don't think…"

"You might think that it's too soon for me," he cut in, "but I know I've moved on. My mind has never been clearer. For the first time in my life I can be myself around someone. You make me happy. And even if you choose not to be with me, that's okay, because I just enjoy being around you. I don't want to go off planet. I want to stay with you. I understand if you're not attracted to me. I'll admit I've lost some of my looks when I got the shit beat out of me. I am also all sorts of messed up and just… a… well, a broken turian."

Sasha scoffed, but when Kaetus looked up, she had a surprised look along with a half-smile on her face. "You think I'm not attracted to you because you got wounded? Kaetus, I saw you at your absolute worst, but that did not affect my attraction to you because I knew that wasn't really you. I kept my distance because I wanted you to heal and… well… I wanted to protect myself. I didn't want you to settle for me simply because I was in your vicinity and I didn't want to be the stepping stone to get you over Sloane." She stood up and moved closer to him. "As for physical attraction, I remember seeing you in Kadara Port some time ago…" She stopped before him, so close that he had to look up to be enthralled by the deep pools of her eyes. "… and I liked what I saw. I never really had a thing for turians and I knew you would never notice me," she lifted a finger and began tracing the edge of his cowl, "but there was just something about you that drew me to you. To be honest, it's been kind of torturous pushing you away. I don't want either of us to get hurt, so if what you say is true..." Her fingers moved to the side of his neck and Kaetus felt a shiver up his spine as she leaned forward, their faces nearly touching. She spoke in a whisper and he could feel her sweet breath on his mouth plates. "… then I'm ready… if you're ready."

"Oh, I'm ready," he replied, his voice low and primal. "I want you because you're you and you are amazing. Not for any other reason."

With that, Sasha leaned in further, taking up that flake of space between them, and pressed her lips to his mouth plates. An explosion of sensation erupted in Kaetus and he wrapped his arms around her. Her luscious pink lips moved deliciously over his mouth and he nearly shuddered when the wet tip of her blunt pink tongue grazed the edge of his plates. He parted them, allowing his tongue to meet hers in a sweet-tasting dance. This was all new to Kaetus, but it felt amazing. The warmth and softness of her lips, the delectable taste of her tongue, it all made his brain fuzzy as if he'd just drank half his weight in alcohol.

Kaetus almost didn't want it to stop. Even though it was an alien gesture to him, he could've kissed Sasha for an eternity, but when she did stop, he did not harbor any complaints as her lips began travelling down his mandible. She placed tiny little human kisses down his jaw and then onto the bare skin of his neck. A breath of a groan escaped him as he lost his injured fingers in her flaming hair. He moved his mouth plates to her shoulder and breathed in her intoxicating scent while having his other hand slide up beneath her shirt feeling the smooth skin of her back. Sasha then leaned back to lift the shirt over her head and toss it to the ground.

As she moved forward again, Kaetus stopped her, and in a voice thick with desire, he told her, "Go all the way."

She smirked at him, knowing immediately what he meant and reached back to unclasp her bra. It met with her shirt on the ground as Kaetus leaned in with his face and hands against her chest. Sasha threw her head back, hushed moans escaping her lips, as he kneaded, nipped and licked at her amazingly supple breasts. He always had to be careful, humans being so soft and fragile in this state, and he, having sharp claws and teeth, could easily hurt her. So he was gentle as he pinched her nipples between his mouth plates and circled his tongue around the pink little nubs.

Feeling the urgency climbing within him, he stood up, pulling her tight against him, knowing she could feel how badly he wanted her. She placed another kiss on his mouth plates, then caught his eye as she undid the tie on her shorts. Kaetus was absolutely captivated, drowning in the blue pools of her eyes, so much that she took the initiative and undid the buckle on his pants.

"Lie down," she told him.

Kaetus lost his body suit in a blink and laid down on her bed, while another part of him stood at full attention. He watched her saunter over as he drank in the sight of her nude form. It was as if she had no sharp angles, unlike him. She was all beautifully delicate curves from the shape of her hips, to the arc of her shoulders. Typical turians might not find that attractive, but he'd already determined he was not a typical turian.

When her knees touched the bed, she climbed in and gracefully swung a leg over him so she could straddle him. She lowered herself onto him and he inhaled sharply as her slick folds hugged the front of his shaft. His hands gripped her hips as she began to move them, sliding herself along the ridged length of him. He groaned, feeling tortured and pleased all at once. It felt incredible, but the warm, inviting sensation of her was teasing him. He wanted all of her and he wanted it then and there.

As if Sasha sensed his need, she leaned forward and pivoted her hips so when she came back down, he glided into her. They both made a symphony of noises as she continued shifting her hips, bringing herself back up to where the tip of him was barely inside, then back down, completely enveloping him. Kaetus had never had sex this way and it was absolutely thrilling. He felt as if he was a deep as he could be, filling her entirely and she was enjoying every second. As her pace quickened, her hands splayed across his chest, trying to avoid his scars, but at that moment, he didn't care. Her fingernails dug into his carapace as he clawed delicately at her back, which only intensified their connection.

Sasha slowed for a moment, her hips swiveled at a savory pace as her eyes locked with his. Her hair engulfed her and her crystal-like eyes shone like beacons filled with utter euphoria. Her lips were parted slightly as she panted softly and Kaetus swore to himself that she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever laid his eyes on.

Kaetus felt his release climbing higher and grabbed ahold of her hips. He began guiding her pace, meeting her thrusts. Her head fell back as she cried out between breaths, "Kaetus! Don't stop!" There was no way he was going to anyway. He continued pulling her hips down onto him, delving deep inside her with each thrust, until he felt her tighten around him, gripping him and milking him as she made the most incredible noises. That feeling and the cry of pure pleasure that escaped her drove him over the edge and he lost himself. His vision blurred and flashes appeared in his eyes as every part of him seemed to explode with a million sensations.

As the high began to unravel, Sasha collapsed onto his chest. Her body fell slack onto him, her hair sprawling across his carapace as her face rested on the edge of his cowl. While they both caught their breath, he embraced her and leaned his face forward to kiss the top of her head, her hair tickling his plates. As he laid his head back down, he sighed happily and thought, _this is how it should be._

To be continued...


	15. Chapter Fifteen: The Greatest Morning

Chapter Fifteen

The Greatest Morning

Kaetus woke feeling a heavenly warmth at his side. He opened his eyes and turned his head to see Sasha curled up beside him, her head resting on his shoulder and her hair engulfing his arm. Her blanket draped crookedly over their lower halves, but in the dim lamp light, he admired what he could see. Her long dark lashes fanned her cheeks and her beautiful lips were parted ever so slightly as she slept. One of her arms stretched out over him, while the other was tucked up beneath her bosom.

Though he didn't really didn't want to disturb her, the urge to touch her forced his free hand to reach over and stroke her bare arm. He turned on his side and their faces were nearly touching. He moved his hand down to her waist and she flinched and giggled sleepily. _She's ticklish,_ he thought with a flare of his mandibles. As his hand traveled down to her backside, he felt his arousal taking hold of him. He leaned his head forward and pressed his mouth plates to her neck, her jaw and then her shoulder. His hand reached her thigh and he lifted it, hooking it around his hip.

She stirred then, as her eyes fluttered open to meet his. Even when tired, they looked as blue as the distant Earth sky.

"Good morning," she said and placed a kiss on his mandible.

"The greatest morning," he replied and pressed his mouth plates to her lips.

She giggled, her lips still against his mouth, then with a smirk she realized the position he had her in and said, "What do you think you're doing?"

He leaned in again and nipped at her neck. "Oh, nothing."

She breathed a slight moan as he pulled her closer and she felt his hardness at the apex of her thighs. "Hmm," she said in a hushed voice, "doesn't feel like nothing."

He moved his hips and she felt the head of him stroke her, separating her. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Her leg tightened around him and pulled him in even closer to where he was at her already moist entrance. "I must be going crazy then."

"I think you are," he said and thrust inside her.

Sasha tossed her head back, letting a moan escape her lips and giving Kaetus the freedom to nip and lick at her bare throat. He moved slowly, savoring every inch of her, getting lost in the warm, wet depths of her.

He continued like this in a slow, sensual pace until she climaxed and was overtaken by the pleasure. Then he flipped her on her back and took her, drilling into her as her moans filled his ears like the most beautiful song. He stayed deep and relentless and she came again, crying out his name and pulling his body tight against her. When she tightened her legs around his waist, it did him in. His release came like a bolt of lightning as every nerve seemed to spark and flare like fireworks beneath his plates.

"You know," Sasha said between soft pants of breath, "I'm quite certain you're fully healed."

Kaetus looked at her and laughed as she joined in. When the laughing simmered, he bent his head forward and kissed her. "I know I'm better now, but I don't want to leave you," he whispered against her lips.

"Then don't."

Kaetus felt happiness unlike anything he'd felt before. Living with Sasha, being with her, he felt young again and full of life. His days were spent laughing, sharing stories, making love and scavenging. He even got Kira to sit for him. Training her to obey him was still a work in progress. He figured the others were a lost cause. Plus, Kira had a sudden rebelliousness against Sasha. Sasha assumed it was jealousy.

Kaetus knew his relationship with Sasha was a little unorthodox, but all of his previous relationships were too. This time though, it felt real. She was patient, understanding and loving. She let him be himself and he felt himself unfolding out of his chrysalis of bottled emotions. Not only did she heal him emotionally, sex with her was the best he'd ever had. Their attraction was like a gravitational force, pulling them together and then exploding in a flurry of soft skin and hard plates. Kaetus was insatiable. He couldn't get enough and sometimes Sasha had to reject him just to get some rest. Kaetus didn't mind though, there was always the following day.

One morning, Kaetus woke to the sound of a challyrion's whimper. His eyes opened to greet the sleeping form of Sasha curled up next to him. Her hair engulfed her like a dark flame and her lips were curved into a peaceful smile. He heard the sound again and turned to see Kira waiting impatiently by the bed.

"Oh," Kaetus said softly, not wanting to wake Sasha. "Is it breakfast time? One moment."

He turned to gently kiss Sasha's head, then slid out of bed. He didn't even bother getting dressed as he ambled lazily into the pool chamber with Kira not far behind. He spotted the other animals sitting around the refrigerated chest where Sasha kept some food for themselves and food for the animals. Fuff was scratching expectantly at the chest.

"Okay, okay," Kaetus said to them. When he opened the chest, excitement sprung them to life. They began shuffling and wiggling and whimpering and one by one he handed them a hunk of meat. Now that Kaetus began to understand Sasha's lifestyle, he realized that she spent a lot of credits for meat. At first he figured she was hunting for the meat, but since she was against killing things, he knew she bought it all. Luckily, he was there to help scavenge now and he would help her make the money they needed to survive.

When he was done feeding the animals, he ventured back into the living chamber and saw that Sasha was still asleep. He thought about being selfish and waking her up for certain… things, but he decided to let her sleep in.

So he grabbed a towel and soap and headed back to the pool chamber.

To be continued...


	16. Chapter Sixteen: Pool Play

Chapter Sixteen

Pool Play

Kaetus had only been relaxing in the cool water for a few minutes before he heard Sasha enter. He turned to her and flared a smile. She was wearing panties and a loose fitting shirt as her hair fell in tangled waves off her head.

She smiled back and said, "Should I give you your privacy?"

"You've seen me naked, you can't be shy about it anymore."

She laughed and then he held up his finger, curling it, beckoning her. She sauntered closer as she removed the shirt and the panties and stepped into the pool with him. She stepped over him, sat down in the water and then stretched her legs across his.

"How's your hand?" She asked, nodding slightly in the direction of where his once broken hand laid at the edge of the pool.

He lifted it and moved it, flexing his fingers gently. They had removed the splint a few days ago. At first it was extremely stiff, but Kaetus had been working on strengthening it. "It's doing better," he said. "My grip is getting stronger."

"Good," she said with a grin.

Watching her delicious, pink lips spread into a smile, caused him to smile. As she closed her eyes and leaned back her head, letting her body relax, his own eyes traveled down to her neck, to her breasts and further down, though her body was slightly distorted by the water. Then he felt heat rising in him.

"I need to go to the port today," Sasha said, snatching his attention back up.

She didn't catch him gawking. She'd only just peeked one eye at him. "I'll come with you," he said.

"You can't, remember?"

"I have that helmet. As long as I keep it on at all times, no one will notice me."

She narrowed her eye at him. He could tell she didn't want him to risk it, but he didn't want her going alone any more.

"Fine," she said after a while of silent debating, "as long as you don't take the helmet off." Her eyes suddenly opened and she glanced down at the water. "Kaetus… feeling a little frisky are we?"

His head shot down and he noticed the throbbing erection between his legs just beneath the water's surface. He looked back at her and she had a sly grin on her lips. "I, uh… suppose I am, but come on, what do you expect when you're there all wet and naked!"

Sasha giggled then leaned forward and kissed him. Kaetus let out an inward hiss as he felt her soft hand wrap around the length of him. Her hand began moving, stroking him, and sending ripples across the pool. His breath hitched as he threw his head back and he groaned, feeling her multiple little fingers work magic around him.

"Hey," she whispered to him and he met her seductive blue gaze. "I want to try something. Sit up on the edge."

His brow furrowed, but he obeyed and rose out of the water to sit on the edge. His feet and half his shins were still in the pool and he leaned back on his hands, careful not to put too much weight on his weaker hand.

Sasha glided closer and between his legs as she said, "You ever hear of what humans can do with their mouths?"

His jaw tightened as he watched her get even closer. "Uh, I think I've come across some stories."

"Would you like try it?"

As an appetizer, Sasha licked up the length of his cock, over each little ridge and Kaetus replied in a hurried gasp, "Yes, please."

She chuckled and continued the path her tongue had started all the way to the tip. Then she took him in her mouth and Kaetus gripped the edge of the pool as the warm wet sensation took hold of him. He loved being inside her, but this was a whole new feeling. Her soft, wet tongue moved and caressed him as she gently sucked, bobbing up and down and working the lower half of him with her hand. He couldn't believe how amazing it felt. He never really paid too much attention to the stories he'd heard from turians who received pleasure from the mouth of a human, but now he was wishing he'd listened.

He didn't realize a human's tongue was so flexible. Sasha seemed to be an expert with hers as she circled it around his tip, then massaged his shaft with it as her beautiful mouth engulfed him. Kaetus felt his climax rising, and as good as that felt, he still wanted to be inside her body, not just her mouth. He savored her lips on his cock a few more moments, holding himself back, until finally he gripped her shoulders and pushed her back gently. She looked up at him inquisitively as he got back into the water, sat down and pulled her back in. She moved with his guidance as her legs straddled him and she lowered herself onto him.

With water splashing around them, they made love. As they both finished simultaneously, panting and soaking wet, they heard a grumbling noise near them and turned to see Kira glaring at them from a few feet away. They both burst out laughing at the jealous challyrion and Sasha had to give her a treat to try and win her back over. Kira took the treat, but still didn't seem too fond of the woman who stole her turian.

To be continued...


	17. Chapter Seventeen: Return to Kadara Port

Chapter Seventeen

Return to Kadara Port

Kaetus was excited to see Kadara Port again, but when he entered the slums, he began to feel a little nervous. People who were once his enemies surrounded him and some of them would've killed him on the spot. Luckily, his helmet provided a little reassurance. His identity was hidden safely behind it.

They checked their guns in at the slums elevator and then Sasha had entered the port with him lugging a crate of scrap behind them. He noticed she didn't have to pay a merchant fee when they entered. Sloane would charge passing merchants and scavengers a fee to enter the port that was a little less than the resident fee. He briefly wondered what else had changed since the Collective took over and he also wondered who was now sitting in Sloane's chair.

He felt his anger rising for a moment, thinking of some bastard in Sloane's place, in _his_ place, but then he felt something touch his armor. He turned to see Sasha had placed her hand on his forearm. He couldn't see her face as she was wearing a helmet too, but he felt his body ease just knowing she was trying to comfort him. It didn't matter who was in Sloane's chair. He had what he needed.

He continued to follow Sasha as she moved through the doors to the main thoroughfare of the port. The same old vendors were there, plus one or two newbies, and Sasha headed to a greasy looking turian leaned against a small storage unit. There were all sorts of mechanical parts hung up for display or piled around the door to the unit. Sasha turned to Kaetus and said, "Stay out here. I deal with this guy a lot, but I don't want him getting suspicious of you. I'll be out in a moment."

Kaetus nodded as Sasha took the scrap and greeted the turian. He could tell by their body language that they had started bartering as they walked into the storage unit. It made Kaetus uneasy seeing Sasha disappear in there with a strange man, but she'd worked with this turian before and he trusted her judgement. He sighed as he glanced around the port, taking in the old sights as something, or someone, caught his eye. It was a man. The tall, lanky human held onto a bulging satchel as if his life depended on it, creeping around the buildings like a shadow. There was something about him Kaetus recognized. When his wide, dark eyes darted around nervously before slinking past a corner and disappearing down an alley, Kaetus placed him. He was one of Sloane's guards. Lincoln was his name and he was once under Kaetus's command, but he was too meek to ever make an impression on Kaetus. He usually stood guard at the slums elevator, but now he was creeping around Kadara Port like an animal.

Kaetus followed Lincoln around the corner and down a dirty alley way, kicking up some garbage that had accumulated there. When the alley way ended, Lincoln went left and so did Kaetus. As Kaetus turned the corner, he was suddenly face to face with Lincoln's gun. How he snuck it into the port, Kaetus wasn't sure.

"W-what do you want?!" The human sputtered.

Kaetus held up his arms, then pulled off his helmet in hopes to avoid a bullet in his face. "Lincoln, it's me."

It took Lincoln a moment. He stood with his eyes bulging and his mouth hanging looking like a dumbfounded fool. "Kaetus?! I thought you were dead!" Lincoln lowered his gun.

"So does a lot of people and I want to keep it that way, so you better keep your mouth shut or I will find you and kill you before you have a chance to utter my name."

Lincoln nodded nervously. "Y-yes, of course."

"You've joined the Collective now?" Kaetus asked him, crossing his arms and shifting his weight.

He gulped hard. "I had to, Kaetus. The Outcasts are gone. All banished or killed. The Collective let me back in after I paid nearly all of my credits to reassure them. I'm trying to make a bartering business, but the competition is tough."

Kaetus looked away and clenched his fist. Everyone he knew on Kadara was either banished or killed, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Then again, why should he care? Were any of them even really his friends?

"Are you going to fight the Collective?" Lincoln asked him.

Kaetus's jaw clenched. "No."

"But, aren't you mad after what they-"

"I'm mad, but I'm not stupid!" Kaetus spat.

Lincoln's eyes looked away, but then lit up when something seemed to hit him. "Oh, what if I had something that might help?"

Kaetus's brow furrowed with suspicion. "What could you have that could help me?"

Lincoln pulled the bag off his back and dug around its innards for a moment before pulling out a thin looking bracelet. It was an omni-tool. Kaetus looked at it and back at Lincoln.

"It was Sloane's," he whispered. "I haven't been able to get past the encryption, but maybe you could?"

"How did you get this?"

"I attended the funeral the Outcasts held for Sloane. I saw it and took it when no one was looking, thinking it could maybe assist us."

"Why give this to me?" Kaetus asked, his tone dark. "What's in it for you?"

"If you can use this to get some sort of upper hand on the Collective, I want in when the dust clears. I'll serve under you if you can take back Kadara Port. It's got to be better than peddling shitty scrap all day."

Conflict stormed silently inside Kaetus for a while as he stared at the omni-tool in Lincoln's outstretched hand. His first instinct was to refuse it. He didn't need it. It wasn't until Lincoln went to stuff the omni-tool back in his bag that Kaetus snatched it from him.

Kaetus didn't make Lincoln any promises before he hurried out of the alley. He wasn't even sure what he would find or what he would do if he found it. He decided at least it would provide that last bit of closure he needed. So, Kaetus found a dark corner inside Kralla's Song, helmet back on, and made sure no one was paying him any attention as he slipped the omni-tool onto his wrist. The orange hologram lit up and a message flashed: _Genetic Signature Not Found! Please Enter Backup Code._

As Kaetus thought of what the backup code would be, he suddenly realized he didn't know much about Sloane. He didn't know her birthday, her height or weight, any sort of number that might've been associated with her, but he did remember one thing and it was worth a shot. When she first overtook Kadara Port, she took out one hundred and twenty three kett. She never really bragged over this number, but Sloane made sure to tell him this. So he typed in the number and to his utter relief, it worked.

He saw the last message she sent. It was to the Pathfinder, asking for his assistance. Kaetus gritted his teeth as he exited it and found something that piqued his interest. It was an audio file. It was the last thing saved on her omni-tool. He did a quick glance around to make sure no one was near and played it. He kept it quiet and held his wrist up to his ear. He heard Sloane and his stomach turned. He thought he'd never hear her voice again, but she wasn't talking to him, she was talking to the Charlatan. He quickly realized that she'd been recording her last moments and when the Charlatan's voice entered his ears, he knew exactly who he was.

To be continued...


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Taste of Revenge

Chapter Eighteen

Taste of Revenge

Kaetus moved as quickly as possible without looking too suspicious down to the slums, grabbing his gun along the way, and to the dirty, crime-ridden club known as Tartarus. Now was his chance. He could finally avenge Sloane, avenge himself and Kadara Port. He climbed the stairs to the second floor, pushing past all the drunk patrons, and barged his way into the back VIP room.

There he was. Leaning back, drinking some sort of alcohol, without a care in the world. Reyes Vidal took everything from him and he was doing nothing but _drinking._

Reyes's eyes looked up from his glass when he saw the turian enter. He raised a black brow. "This is a private room," he said with his thick accent.

Kaetus didn't say a word as he reached up and pulled off his helmet, letting it drop to the floor with a loud metallic sound. Reyes's spine straightened, but his bronze-skinned face didn't show too much surprise. He mastered the art of deceit so well that he didn't even show an ounce of emotion.

"Kaetus," he said and took a sip of his drink, "I haven't seen you in a while. I'd heard some bad things, but I'm glad to see you're okay."

"Glad to see I'm okay?" Kaetus growled through gritted teeth. "You're _glad_?!"

Reyes shrugged. "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

In one swift motion, Kaetus snatched his rifle off of his back and aimed it at Reyes. " _You fucking did this to me, you piece of shit!"_

Reyes put his drink down slowly and raised his hands in surrender. "Woah now, Kaetus. I didn't do anything to you."

"Stop your fucking games! I know who you are and what you did! I know you had Sloane killed and had me beaten to near death! And now I'm going to make things right!"

Kaetus's finger grazed the trigger, but he froze when he heard a voice. A familiar, saddened voice cried out his name. He turned his head slightly to see Sasha behind him.

"Kaetus," she said again, "don't do this."

"I have to!"

She moved closer to him, put her hand on his shoulder and met his eyes. "Please don't do this. Revenge won't make it better. Please… for me… lower the gun and let's just go."

Kaetus glanced back at Reyes, then back at Sasha. He closed his eyes slowly as his shoulders began to sink. His arm fell to his side and he let out a long, pain-ridden sigh.

"Come on," Sasha said to him, pulling his arm lightly, "let's go home."

Sasha bent down to pick up his helmet and handed it to him. He took it, holstered his gun and slipped the helmet back on. Sasha glanced at Reyes as they turned to leave and tried to ignore the sly grin that spread across his face.

* * *

Sasha and Kaetus were quiet the entire trip home. They stayed quiet up until the parked the vehicle and moved into the living chamber. It was Sasha who broke the tense silence.

"So, apparently you're not over Sloane," she said, her voice barely above a whisper as she stood near the kitchen nook with her arms crossed and her back to him.

Kaetus, who stormed over to the scrap wall, slammed his fist into one of the boxes. "This isn't just about Sloane! It's about me and Kadara Port too! That bastard took everything I loved from me!"

Sasha spun around to face him with angry tears welling in the pools of her eyes. "Everything you loved? So what, this isn't good enough? I'm not good enough? He might've taken all that from you, but I thought you were happy with what you have now? I thought you were happy with me. You told me you wanted to stay with me."

"I am and I do!" He shouted.

"Well then you shouldn't have the need to kill someone because it would make the pain from your past go away! I thought maybe you were happy. I thought maybe you might've loved me. If you were happy, we wouldn't be yelling over this right now!"

"Look, I'm sorry I can't live in your little fantasy world where no one gets killed and happiness fixes everything! I'm sorry I can't be perfect like you and never had to kill anyone, but honestly, you're just living like a hermit vulture girl, picking off the dead, never facing any problems, sleeping in a hole! So maybe you aren't perfect after all."

Seeing Sasha's tears roll off her cheeks made Kaetus feel like he'd been kicked in the gut all over again, but his anger wasn't cooling. It continued to rage inside of him like a hungry monster.

Sasha's lips pursed tightly and she closed her eyes. "You're right," she said softly, "I'm not perfect. Truth is, I'm a criminal." She opened her watery eyes as she hesitated to speak. "I've… never told anyone before. I tried to bury it for so long. When I lived on Earth, I had no family. My parents passed away when I was young and I was raised by my aunt, but there wasn't the unconditional parental love there. When she died, I hardly shed a tear. After that, I had no one. All I had was my dog, Dipper. I know it sounds silly, but he was like my child. He was always happy to see me, he loved me like no one ever had. I was his world. One day he was taken from me by a cruel, cruel man. As we walked down the street by my home, Dipper went too close to the road and was struck. The man in the vehicle stopped to laugh and say, 'Oops', then kept driving. I was driven mad with rage. I ended up buying a gun and tracking him down. When I found his house, I broke in and held him at gunpoint. He apologized with tears of fear in his eyes, then I realized what I was doing. I lowered my gun, but he took it as an opportunity to attack me. In our scuffle, somehow my finger pressed the trigger. I didn't mean to kill him. I really didn't. I guess I just wanted to scare him, but I couldn't change what happened. I ran away. I ended up changing my name and moving across the country. I even paid someone to alter my name on my credentials, licenses and even my diplomas so I could still work. After that, I couldn't bring myself to kill another living creature, which made my job as a veterinarian a little harder not being able to euthanize. Months went by and I thought I was safe, but I began to feel _too_ safe. So when I discovered the Initiative, I knew it was my window to fully escape. It had worked, at first, but I was stupid. I tried to bring Dipper back and when they found out, I was afraid they would also discover my past. Instead of being incarcerated, I ran away. I exiled myself."

Kaetus stared at her for a long while and then said in a voice much calmer, "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"Because, I was trying to help you and what was I just supposed to say, 'Oh hey, by the way, I'm a murderer'?"

"I've killed people before, Sasha. It happens."

She glared at him. "You've killed in the military and while protecting Kadara Port. That is not _murder._ I killed someone in their own home for my own selfish, vengeful needs and it ruined my life. Besides, it doesn't matter anyway, you just told me how you really felt. Living as a hermit vulture doesn't suit you I guess."

Sasha turned to walk out and Kaetus called after her.

"I need some air," she said, her voice cracking slightly as she went through the corridor.

Kaetus watched her leave, then sat down at the table, folding his fingers together in front of his mouth. He knew he shouldn't have said that. It wasn't true. He didn't mind scavenging. Yes, it could get a little boring, but it never was because it was with her. He couldn't even comprehend why he was mad. He got tempted by the thought of revenge and she pulled him out. It was obvious that he hated Reyes for what he did, but what would killing him have accomplished? He'd probably end up with the Collective hunting him and Sasha down. So, as always, even after her surprising confession, she was right. He didn't care that she had killed someone, it didn't define her, just as his relationship with Sloane, or his father, or even Aeven or the Initiative, didn't define him. It just took him a little while to realize that.

Suddenly, Kaetus heard something. It was difficult to hear the sound travelling down the cave corridors, but he just barely heard the sharp, panicked scream of his name. It was Sasha.

To be continued...


	19. Chapter Nineteen: Taken

Author's note- So the final chapter is here. Hope you all have enjoyed my little fanfiction about Kaetus. 3

Chapter Nineteen

Taken

For the first time since he was injured, Kaetus ran. This wasn't the type of sprint he used to escape the eiroch, this was a full on, leg-pumping, chest-heaving run. His feet pounded against the rock, sending wisps of dust behind him as he wound through the cave. When he reached the mouth, his worst fears came to life as he saw a Collective thug force Sasha into a vehicle. She screamed his name and he forced his body to move faster, but it was too late. The vehicle took off, spraying him with dirt as he fell over from the exertion. He got to his knees, pulled out his rifle and aimed, but didn't shoot. He had the vehicle in his sights, but what if he hurt Sasha? He couldn't risk it. Instead, he stood and turned back to the cave. He ran back into the belly of the cave and saw the animals on high alert standing outside the corridor to the pool chamber. They all stood rigid and fidgeted, knowing something urgent was happening.

Kaetus headed to their vehicle and paused as he turned to the animals.

"All of you, come," he told them.

The looked at him curiously.

"Come! Sasha is in danger!"

Kira inched forward, but not enough to show that she was doing it out of obedience.

Kaetus marched towards them, gritting his teeth and balling his fists. "Get in the damn vehicle!" He pointed towards it. "Now, COME!"

Suddenly, with a symphony of yips and growls, the animals ran over to the vehicle and climbed in the back. All but Kira, who insisted she sit up front with Kaetus.

With his gun on his back, a pack of challyrions and an adhi, Kaetus tore through the cave and out the mouth, following the Collective's tracks to where ever they took his Sasha.

The tracks went on for miles. They climbed over hills, wound between the pools of acidic water and would sometimes disappear over rocky terrain, but they continued on and on. Kaetus was beginning to worry that they'd never end and then to his relief, he finally came upon an outpost. He saw the vehicle that took Sasha parked outside. Through Sasha's visor-binoculars, he saw there were some sentries perched on the roof and some guards patrolling the perimeter. This wasn't going to be easy, but he was going to save Sasha or die trying. He wasn't going to lose her.

He exited the vehicle with his gun ready as Kira and the others joined him. He glanced back at them and could feel their energy. They were poised for attack, waiting on his command, like bombs ready to be set off. He held out an upright hand to them, gesturing for them to heel. They obeyed. He studied the movements of the patrols for a while and as soon as he saw an opening, he turned to the animals.

Using his hands as visual aids, he commanded them, "Kira, Sprocket, Fuff, go left. Flynn and Apollo, go right. Now, attack!"

Like a small battalion, he and the animals charged. To his surprise, the animals listened. It occurred to him that they were a lot smarter than he originally thought. He took out the sentries before they had a chance to turn to see what was happening and the animals were on their targets in seconds. Kira, Sprocket and Fuff were on a pair of guards like a storm of teeth, claws and growls. Flynn and Apollo took down another guard in the other direction. Kaetus dashed towards the outpost, taking out anything that moved. Unfortunately, he didn't see a guard that had ducked behind a half-wall outside the building. A shot hit him square in the shoulder. His shields depleted and he was knocked on his ass, but he wasn't hurt. Before the guard had a chance to fire another shot, the animals converged onto him and all Kaetus could hear was muffled screams and growls.

Another batch of guards came up from behind, preparing to flank them. Kaetus dove behind some equipment as projectiles flew by his head. "Attack!" He shouted as he jumped up and fired as much as he could to provide a distraction for the animals. It worked for the most part. He took out two as the animals made impact, but Sprocket was shot. Luckily, it seemed as if it was only her leg. He had faith that once he found Sasha and headed home, she could fix the little challyrion. Sprocket backed off with a limp as the others took out the three remaining men. Kaetus was clear. He turned to the building and made his way up the ramp as he reloaded his gun.

He made the decision not to command the animals to follow. He didn't want a clusterfuck when he entered the outpost, so he commanded them to stay. Now that the outside was clear, Kaetus made his way to the building, gun readied as he went up the ramp. The door slid open and Kaetus's stomach dropped when his eyes fell upon Reyes with his gun to Sasha's head. Sasha was blindfolded, gagged and bound and he held onto her waist with his free hand. Two thugs were on either side of them with their guns pointed at Kaetus.

"I thought you were dead, Kaetus. You surprise me," Reyes said to him with his infamous sly grin.

"I'm full of surprises." Kaetus growled back.

"I don't want to kill this innocent scavenger here, but it was the only way to get you here. Unfortunately, I have to think of the port. I can't let anyone threaten it. Now, drop your gun or she dies." Reyes pressed the barrel of his gun to Sasha's temple and she cried out from beneath her gag.

Kaetus's jaw tightened as he bent down and set his gun on the ground. When he rose, he held his hands up as he said, "Look, Vidal, I don't want trouble. I just want to take her and go."

"Don't want trouble? Is that why you showed up at Tartarus with a gun pointed at me?"

"That was a mistake in my judgement. It won't happen again."

Reyes's eyes narrowed. "You expect me to trust you?"

"We both know there's very little trust between us. You took everything from me and I once desired revenge, but now it doesn't matter. I just want to live."

"Let's see how badly you want to live. On your knees."

Kaetus hesitated, but obeyed. When he did, Reyes turned to one of his thugs and said, "Make sure he realizes the repercussions if he decides to have a lapse in judgement again."

Sasha struggled at the realization of Reyes's words as the thug marched towards Kaetus and brought down the butt of his gun down on Kaetus's face. Sasha cried out again as Kaetus groaned at the impact of the gun punching into his face plates. _Damnit,_ he thought, _I'd just finished healing this shit up._

Suddenly, a fleeting shadow came over Kaetus, passing over him like a tiny dropship, but this dropship didn't contain reinforcements. She _was_ the reinforcement. In his defense, Kira leapt over her fallen turian and clamped her sharp-toothed mouth onto the thug's arm. The thug's scream filled the room and distracted Reyes and the other just enough for Kaetus to reach his gun. He shot at the other thug and struck him in the shoulder, which was his plan. He was done killing. The second thug dropped his gun near Sasha's feet and like the smart girl she was, she heard it and kicked in its direction. Her foot connected and the gun went flying, which allowed Kaetus to focus directly onto Reyes.

"Kira, heel," Kaetus commanded.

Kira listened, released the man and backed up beside Kaetus. It was then Kaetus could hear the growls coming from the rest of the animals in the doorway behind him. He didn't even have to spare a glance, he knew the loyal animals were there.

Kaetus rose with his gun still pointed at Reyes as he kicked the whimpering, bleeding thug's gun away. Kira's victim didn't even care. He was too busy clutching his shredded arm.

"Now, Vidal," Kaetus growled, "you drop _your_ gun."

Reyes smirked as he tossed his gun towards Kaetus and released Sasha. "I'm glad you have friends that matter now, Kaetus."

"Remove her bindings." He said to the grinning Charlatan.

Reyes did as he was told. He removed Sasha's blindfold and as it fell, her scared, damp blue eyes fell onto Kaetus with relief. Then her gag was removed and she smiled weakly at him. Once her arm restraints were off, she stumbled towards Kaetus and he put a protective arm around her shoulders. His gun did not budge.

"Kaetus," Reyes began, "I'm sorry for this. I don't like hurting people, I do what is needed. The people in the port are happy and I have to protect them, even if that meant threatening you and your woman."

 _Your woman…_ The words lifted his heart as his mind lingered on them, but it was no time to become giddy. "Then I propose a truce, right here, right now. I will…" Kaetus gritted his teeth as he forced himself to speak the words that he knew he had to say to achieve peace, "forgive you for killing Sloane if you leave us alone. I'll only come to the port to barter. I won't be of any more concern to you."

"I want to believe you Kaetus, but your loyalty to Sloane was something to admire."

"You want proof?" Kaetus lowered his gun for a moment and pulled the thin metallic bracelet off his wrist. "This was Sloane's. This is what allowed me to discover your identity. This contains the truth of who you are, Charlatan." He took a moment to slip it on and activate the recording, watching Reyes's brow furrow with concern as he heard his own voice. And then without hesitation, Kaetus removed it, balled his fist and crushed the omni-tool in his grasp. As Reyes watched on, he let the pieces, the last remaining pieces of Sloane, fall to the floor. Kaetus didn't bother raising his gun again as he met Reyes's eyes with a determined resolve.

After a moment, Reyes nodded. "You have your truce, Kaetus."

Kaetus stepped forward and stretched out his hand. Reyes took it and they shook. It was a tense, uneasy shake, but neither men had any desire to fight anymore.

As Kaetus, Sasha and the animals turned to leave, Kaetus asked Sasha in a low voice, "Did they hurt you?"

"No," Sasha whispered back.

Kaetus didn't respond as they made it back to the vehicle some distance away from the outpost. The animals climbed into the back as he and Sasha got in the front. As he placed his hands on the steering wheel, he let out a deep sigh.

Sasha glanced over at him. "Kaetus, I'm sor-"

"Shut up," he snapped.

Sasha felt her tears welling, expecting Kaetus to bite her head off, but he didn't. After a moment of silence, he suddenly turned to her and pulled her close. His armor made the embrace awkward, but at that time, Sasha didn't mind it. His arms wrapped around her tightly as she wound her arms around his neck. A smile spread across her lips and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"I love you, Sasha," he said softly against her ear, "I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it. There's no place I'd rather be than in your hermit cave."

Sasha chuckled, and then said, "That sounds a little dirty."

Kaetus pulled back at met her eyes with a highly unimpressed look. She held back laughter, but Kaetus enjoyed seeing her smile, especially after fearing he'd miss seeing it for the rest of his life.

"I'm sorry," she said. "In all seriousness… I love you too."

"Not just because I enjoy your hermit cave?" He asked, flaring his mandibles into a playful smile.

She laughed again and said, "No, I can think of a few more reasons."

Kaetus turned back to the steering wheel and started the engine. "Good, you can tell me when we get home."

Sasha sighed happily. "Yes, let's all go home."

That night, after a heated reunion, Kaetus and Sasha went to bed, but Sasha found it difficult to sleep. There was just too much buzzing around her brain.

"Kaetus?" She said to him.

"Hmm?"

She bit her lip as she rested her head against his chest plates, running her fingers along the seams and finding warm skin underneath. "Why didn't you say anything about the man I murdered?"

"Would that be before or after you stormed out and got kidnapped?" She scoffed and playfully slapped at his cowl. He chuckled, then began stroked her hair affectionately. "What did you say to me a while ago when you said you saw me at my worst?"

She thought a moment. "I said that I knew it wasn't really you."

He let out an agreeing hum. "Then I give you the same answer. I fell in love with a kind, strong, sometimes insufferable woman, not a murderer. I see past all that just as you saw past all my fucked up shit. Most of all, you freed me, Sasha. That is something no one has ever done for me and even if I did leave, go off planet somewhere and was never with you, I would still love you for it."

Her head shifted and she looked up at him. Their eyes met and a smile was shared between them. Then Sasha inched closer to his face and placed a kiss on his mouth plates. As her head settled once more against his chest, for the first time in his life he realized he didn't have to follow Sasha's commands to make her happy. She was just happy being with him, just as he was happy with her. He felt needed and wanted, and most of all he had purpose. It wasn't a purpose that he had to swear an oath to take on or a purpose built on unrequited feelings. It was a purpose of his own design. He was his own commander and he had Sasha to thank for that.

The End


End file.
